New Mobotropolis Academy
by TaffyLover12
Summary: A new year is about to kick off at NMA, Mobius's most popular, but most dangerous, boarding school! There will be death, romance, drama, fights, love, lessons, internal struggles, endless surprises and, of course, a lot of studying and homework! Of course, NMA hasn't got the worst record of student behaviour for no reason... [Inspired by Green Hill Academy by XxSnowDropxX]
1. Start of a New Term

**This had to be rewritten and renamed, so there are some massive plot points that have been changed, plus I felt that not enough students were assholes.**

 **Should point this out (just in case you didn't read the original), this story is borderline M, but I've put it at a T because most students are teenagers. If the story gets too mature, I will put it up to a M to protect younger readers. For any younger readers, I WOULD ADVISE CAUTION WHILE READING, seeing as this story contains, but not limited to, the following story elements: violence (maybe graphic), sex, alcohol/drugs, blood/gore, character death, murder, suicide/suicidal references, attempts or thoughts, rape, abuse/neglect, teenage pregnancy, homophobic or racial discrimination (as well as bullying in general), nasty language, mental illness as well as lots of other stuff. There will be notices detailing when these elements appear.**

 **Also, to avoid rants, pairings are not set in stone. Also, there is one character in this story that is not owned by me or SEGA and that is Quinn, owned by V.G.B.305. Please support this author! They are amazing. Sequin, Gabrielle, Jason, Mariposa and Fang are OCs that belong to me.**

 **Characters will be OOC. Just a warning. Also, I'm calling Tails "Mike" instead of "Miles" because the anti-Tails, the real Miles, has the same name and it would be awkward if they shared a name.**

 **Ok...long intro over.**

 **Chapter 1 will contain alcohol and drugs references, mention of suicide, violence/assault as well as blackmail. Enjoy.**

 **XO**

 _ **Chapter 1: Start of a New Term**_

Sonia turned and tossed as she tried to get to sleep. This was the last night in her family home before another year kicked off at NMA (abbreviation for New Mobotropolis Academy). However, that didn't mean the tensions downstairs were getting any better. Her mother and her brother were again arguing. Her phone buzzed. It was Bow Sparrow, her boyfriend and a literal dreamboat in her opinion.

 **Bow:** Asleep yet, sweetie?

 **Sonia:** With mom and bro yelling? No.

 **Bow:** Wish I was there to wrack them one.

 **Sonia:** Be nice. I'll see you tomorrow xxxxxx

A knock came at the door. It was Manic, her other brother and her twin.

"You're still awake as well, I see."

"With them yelling? Of course."

A slam of a door came behind them. Then Bernadette, their mother, came up the stairs, huffing. Their father, Jules, came up behind her and saw the two awake.

"Sorry." Bernie mouthed as she slipped inside their bedroom. Jules followed. Manic face-palmed.

"Remind me why our brother is a massive asshole sometimes."

"No idea."

"Should I...?"

"Leave him alone. He's fine, just pissed. He'll be all normal in the morning."

"Don't bet on that." Manic left then, stretching and yawning. Finally, there was silence. Sonia pressed her ear against her bedroom wall. She could hear faint crying. She pulled away. She knew her older brother, Sonic, didn't get along with his parents one bit and it caused many an argument. It was mainly because he was a rebel by nature and a damaged soul, continuingly bullied for his over-cocky attitude and super-speed, a talent many people dubbed "unMobian". He got called the worst names, meaning he had been dipping in and out of schools all his life. He had been to 5 high schools in the last 4 years and with him now attending a proper boarding school, it meant he couldn't run home if he got really upset. Luckily, Manic's friend Shadow went to that school as well and had a similar talent and problem and hoped the two would get along fine. She hoped so too. She loved her brother to pieces but protecting him would be a problem. Well...when she thought of brother, he was really her older stepbrother. He had a different mum: Aleena. Jules had remarried to Bernadette when Sonic was just 6 and when she and Manic were 5. He was 17. They were 16. Sonic also had a full blood brother, though they didn't know his name. Heck, they had never even met the guy.

She flopped onto her pillow; hoping sleep would wash over her...

XO

HONK HONK!

Sonia was just about ready. All her bags were packed. Bernadette dipped into her room.

"All ready, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, I'm ready mother." The two cuddled; with Bernie running her fingers through the thick pink fringe Sonia had that hung over her face.

"Look after your brothers, OK? Especially Sonic."

"Mother, I will. You can count on me." She heard a door open. Coming out of it was Sonic, his long sapphire-blue fur still a bit ruffled. In a way, it made him look cute and fluffy. His sharp emerald eyes made the sapphire ones his stepmother had. He looked away first. Bernadette didn't seem to notice and gave him a large hug too.

"You take care for yourself now, my hero." Sonic couldn't help but smile at the nickname.

"It's only until next summer, mom."

"Yes, but still. Sonia and Manic will look out for you. Also, that friend of Manic will too...Shadow, was it?"

"Shadow the emo." Sonic had met Shadow once before over the summer and the two didn't get along at first. Shadow _was_ a bit of an emo, what with his monochrome fashion sense, and was a bit of a cold-hearted prick. Manic seemed to not mind Shadow, so he couldn't judge too much.

HONK HONK!

"Gotta go, mom." Sonic gave her one last hug and ran to the door with Manic, who was already waiting. Sonia followed. The bus was just about empty except for a pink hedgehog who sat near the back. This was Amy-Rose, a girl from Mercia and was known throughout the school as the "girliest-girl" ever. As soon as the three got onto the bus, she gestured to Sonia.

"Hey, Sonia!"

"Hello Amy, how was your summer?"

"Boring. Hanging out with Rob bores me to death." Rob was her first cousin and an expert archer. He was also Bow's buddy. She then noticed Sonic. "Who is the blue hedgehog?"

"My older stepbrother. He's new this year."

"Oh, he's a freshman then. What's his name?"

"Sonic."

"Ooh...exotic. That's a cool name." Sonic heard this and rolled his eyes. Amy pouted. "He's a bit cold, isn't he?"

"He's like that. Be nice to him and he'll warm up to you. He's been in and out schools for years."

"How come?"

"Bullies."

"Yeowch." Amy shuddered at this. She too had been bullied in her lifetime so she could sympathise somewhat. "I hope we're bunking this year."

"Fingers crossed. How many in a room?"

"Fours I think."

"I really want Cream and Blaze."

"Or Mina and Honey. They're fun. Well, when Mina isn't being hyper about fashion."

"LOL." Sonia giggled. The bus suddenly went quite fast over a speed-bump and slowed. Another stop. Manic smiled when Shadow got on the bus.

"Hey, Shadz!"

"Hey, Manic." He noticed Sonic. "Is Blue attending NMA as well this year?"

"Yeah, mom got him a place."

"Lucky me." Sonic sarcastically muttered, obviously dreading it. Manic patted him on the shoulder.

"You'll be fine."

"Yeah, right."

"Well, well..." Shadow cringed and looked up. It was Mephiles, his old enemy. His brother Eclipse was behind him, cruelly grinning. Eclipse could take over minds if he so wished. Mephiles could dissolve into shadows. Then again, NMA was the only school that urged students to use and encourage their natural talents. "...look what the cat dragged in."

"Get lost." Shadow snarled only for Mephiles to punch him to the ground (and seemingly knocking him out), angering Manic.

"Leave him alone, you asshole!"

"Fuck off, weed." He pushed Manic into Sonic, earning in him wracking his head on the window. "Oh, who is this little shrinking violet? Your brother?"

"We're stepbrothers, actually." Sonic groaned, rubbing his head and shaking Manic off him. Eclipse was quick, grabbing him by the quill. For hedgehogs, their quills were very sensitive to pain so for it to get pulled hurt immensely. Sonia and Amy were powerless. The boys wouldn't attack them but they were too powerful for them to take on.

"Don't talk back, stupid. Any idea who we are? Back off, loser. Our fight is with Emo-Boy and Weed-Kid." He threw Sonic aside and turned back to Manic. Mephiles had Shadow also by the quill and had his face very close to the black hedgehog's own. The ebony hedgehog seemed to have regained some consciousness but it was clear by the lack of fire in his eyes that he was still in a lot of pain.

"Right...what torture method shall I use today...?" As this was going on, Sonic managed to stagger to his feet despite his quill throbbing and his vision being a bit doubled. He felt rage fill him. Manic knew what was going to happen and decided to provoke Eclipse.

"Hey, Darkling, you are a total loser yourself, you know."

"SHUT UP!" He kicked Manic twice. Manic painfully glanced at Sonic. His eyes were dark.

 _Show them, bro._

" **Leave. My. Brother. ALONE!"** He kicked Eclipse aside.

"W...What...?" Mephiles was confused. He shook with his own rage. "I'll show you hedgehog!" He lunged in for a punch but, thanks to his speed, Sonic easily dodged and punched him straight in the stomach, sending him reeling back. Mephiles couldn't avoid Eclipse and ended up tripping over him. The two bullies then just blinked in surprise and numb shock. No way did that hedgehog have the skill to beat them up.

 **"Attack these two again and you'll regret it. Hear me?"** The two dark students nodded. **"Good. Now sit down and be good little boys."**

"Whoa...he's cool."

"He gets violent when angry." Sonia moaned as Sonic managed to calm himself down and helped his brother and Shadow, both of them staring at him in astonishment. Even knew Manic knew what cool moves his bro could pull, he was still impressed.

"Hate to say it Blue, but you're a good fighter." Shadow begrudgingly commented, rubbing his head when he got punched. Sonic blinked at this and laughed.

"Nah, it was nothing. He was too slow." Mephiles heard this but kept quiet. He was rubbing his stomach.

"You OK?" Eclipse asked but Mephiles glared daggers at him.

"That bastard won't get away with this, just you watch." He hiccupped. He felt he was gonna hurl. Eclipse inched away from him.

XO

On another bus, which was specially adapted to reach those living in the ocean, the bus had a few occupants:

Sitting near the front was a navy shark, Razor, and his sister Blade. A black chao called Crusher sat on Razor's lap. Despite his cut-throat attitude, he loved his chao and couldn't leave him behind, much to Blade's embarrassment.

Across from them was Echo, a dolphin who grew up in a military family. She was an enemy of Razor but was kind of buddy-buddy with Blade. She was sitting with Undina, a purple fish (no-one knew what type) who, known only to the people on the bus, was the crown princess of Meropis, a city on the sea floor.

Behind her was Dive, a purple lemming who was gazing out the window as the sea got further and further away. He whimpered as it went out of view.

Near the back were Opal, Coral and Pearly, all friends. Opal was a yellow jellyfish, Coral was an orange betta fish and a priestess and finally, Pearly was a young grey manta ray.

Finally, sitting all on her own was a squid called Abyss. No-one wanted to sit with _her._ She was, after all, an "Egg Soldier", a nickname given to those who continuingly followed the headmaster, Ivo Robotnik's, rules almost mindlessly. There were a few others, but she was one of them.

The driver was actually an orca called Akhult, an ex-student at the school as well as an ex-Egg Soldier. He sympathized with Abyss.

XO

"FINALLY!" Amy screamed. The bus had many more people now as the vehicle reversed into the school's overly-large bus bay. Amy rushed off the bus and sharply inhaled. "Back on school campus. My, I've missed NMA!"

"Really? You "missed" it? I thought you hated school." Sonia sarcastically smiled, earning Amy to playfully hit her in mock anger.

"Sonia!"

"Relax, I'm only joking."

"Wow…!" It was Sonic. He had taken one look over the grounds and felt his jaw hit the ground. It. Was. Fucking. MASSIVE! "How big is this place?"

"Biggest school on Mobius, bro." Manic answered, earning wide eyes of shock.

"Seriously?!"

"Seriously."

A horn came from behind them. Everyone face-palmed except from the Blue Blur.

"Hello, NMA! Your King is back!" Sonic saw the car was a silver Porsche with black stripes down the side. Driving was a green hedgehog with cold icy blue eyes. Next to him was a red fox with dark red hair and wore Goth clothes, except for the out-of-place yellow ribbon in her hair. He hated to admit it, but she was quite hot.

"Seriously, first day of school and Scourge and Fiona HAVE to make a scene?" Shadow moaned, sweat dropping.

"Scourge and Fiona?"

"Biggest bastard and bitch in the school."

"Hey, sweetie, look. New guy in town." Fiona nudged Scourge to look at Sonic, who was staring directly at him. He didn't know the guy.

"Seems alright. Looks a bit…I don't know, fishy."

"I'm talking to him." Fiona jumped out the car before Scourge could even react.

"FI!" He yelled to her but she ignored him. "Oh for the love of…!"

"Hey, sweetie. You're new, right?"

"U-Uh…"

"Yes. Yes he is. Sonic, meet…ugh…Fiona Fox." Manic hesitantly and disgustedly introduced the two. Fiona winked.

"Not too shabby for a guy."

"FI!" Scourge grabbed her. "Seriously, don't…" He looked at Sonic more closely. "Hmm…name?"

"…Sonic."

"What, as in "supersonic"? What sort of mother calls their kid that?" He began laughing.

"It's not my real name, it's my permanent nickname."

"Oh, right. That makes sense." He stopped chuckling. "Name's Scourge. You've met Fiona. We're all friends. Good. Come on, Fiona." He dragged her off, leaving her to shrug in resignation.

"Is that a healthy relationship?"

"Who knows?" Amy had her arms crossed. "Scourge is a real creep. And a ladykiller, as you've seen. Thinks he only needs one-liners to get through life. Pathetic."

"He has a cool car tho'. His family must be loaded."

"His father's a baron. No wonder he calls himself the king." Manic revealed.

"Hey, Shadow, sweetie." Shadow turned around. A white bat with overdone make-up was standing there.

"Oh, hey Rouge."

"You could have called or texted me over the summer, y'know." Rouge pouted.

"Sorry, I was quite busy. You know how my dad gets."

"With his experiments again? Jeez, does your dad do nothing but science?"

"No, not really."

"Oh! Who is that?" Shadow saw a golden hedgehog hiding behind him. She had been so quiet that no-one had really noticed her. He seemed surprised.

"Oh, this is my sister Maria. She's new this year too." Maria shyly waved but still hid behind her brother.

"New...oh, all the newbies seem to be little spitfires. Apart from that hunk of a blue hedgehog. My, he's handsome." Sonic blushed at this. Shadow lowly growled.

"Hey. I'm your boyfriend here."

"I know, I know. I'm just teasing. I'll see you in class. Hope you and Manic didn't bring any you-know-what. Zonic and Snively are on bag control."

"Not Zonic." Manic face-palmed. Zonic was the strictest bag control officer at the school. If he caught anyone smuggling anything "restricted", you might as well run. He could be deadly. Snively was just as bad but sometimes gave people the benefit of a doubt which had landed some people in trouble with the head. The head happened to be Snively's uncle. He was called "Snively" for a reason. Manic glanced at his bag. He had drugs, cigarettes and two bottles of booze in his bag. How could he hide them? "I'm dead, aren't I?"

"So dead." Shadow darkly agreed.

XO

A taxi labelled Mobotropolis Cabs arrived at the school gates. Out swung a red-haired chipmunk with bright blue eyes. Behind her was her older brother, Elias.

"Ready, Sal?"

"So ready. I'll show NMA how this girl rocks the curriculum."

"I...wonder about you sis." Elias sunk.

"SALLY-GIRL!" Sally turned to see a blonde-haired cyborg rabbit run up to her with a jovial grin on her face. "Nice to see ya again!"

"Bunnie! Where's 'Twan and Rotor?"

"Waitin' in the playground. 'Twan has this weird chick with him...Gabi ah think she said her name was. Jus' great."

"You still have a crush on him, dontcha?" A smirk crossed the chipmunk's face, making Bunnie's face grow red with rage.

"AH DO NOT! 'Twan is a total jerk."

"Keep saying that. See you later, Eli." She wandered off with the raging rabbit, leaving Elias alone. He huffed.

"Yeah, leave me to pay the cab." He quickly paid and caught the eye of a female lynx going up the stairs. "Nicole! Hey, wait up!"

"Elias." She spoke, looking away from him.

"You still angry at me?"

"Because you kissed Mina? Yes."

"I was drunk, OK? I...I didn't mean it..."

"You didn't?"

"Of course not! I wish I could take it back. You're the girl for me, Nic. Please." Nicole didn't like being called Nic, seeing as there was a wolf-weasel with the same name. She eventually sighed.

"Fine. I'll forgive you...this time."

"Thank you, Nicole." The two kissed. "Ready to start anew this year?"

"When would I say no?"

XO

"KNUX!" Knuckles, a red echidna, turned around, only for a red armadillo to barrel into him.

"H-Hey Mighty, how you holding up?"

"Alright. You remember Ray, right?" He revealed a small golden flying squirrel behind him. The poor kid was shaking.

"I remember. Hey, Ray." Ray smiled at this.

"H-H-Hey K-Knuckles. Long t-time no see..."

"Still got that stutter, I see."

"Knux, don't point it out."

"Sorry."

"H-Hey! I-I try n-not to!"

"He's stressed. First year here. Seen Manic, anywhere?"

"Probably giving Blue the whole tour."

"Who?"

"His stepbrother, Sonic. He's starting this year too, but as a freshman. He's in our year."

"How come he didn't come here already?"

"Went to a different school. Guessed he dropped out to come here."

"This school _is_ rated the best in Northamer, if not the whole of Mobius."

"N-No need to b-b-brag, Mighty." Ray scowled, though his stutter made his snarl seem comic. Mighty ruffled his hair.

"Sorry, buddy. Come on, let's go through baggage control."

"OK!" The two went off. Knuckles sighed.

"Espio, you can come out." A fuchsia chameleon appeared from the shadows. He sighed. Knuckles was one of the few people who could sense him when he was invisible. "Why were you hiding?"

"Dunno. Felt like it. Heard you talking. Manic has a stepbrother?"

"Haven't met him yet but it seems like it. Manic's probably showing him around."

"Let's hope he hasn't met Scourge yet." As he spoke, his phone went off.

 **Lightning:** Get your ass here, now.

"Gotta go. See you later, Knuckles." He vanished. Knuckles narrowed his eyes.

"Don't tell me...THAT is still going on..."

XO

Espio could see Lightning Lynx, as well as Drago (a white wolf) and Patch (a one-eyed coyote and Antoine's brother) waiting for him.

"Well. You sure took your time, asshole." Lightning sneered, moving fast to pin the ninja to the grass. "Got the money?"

"How much this time?"

"25 dollars."

"I-I haven't got that kind of money, alright!? I-I'll get it to you tomorrow."

"Tsk tsk. Ze better have a death wish if ze dare talk to Lightning like zhat!" Patch threatened, a French accent running through his voice. Drago cracked his knuckles.

"Hey. Boss. Can I play Hit the Chameleon Piñata?"

"Sure. Let me string him up for you." He pulled out several whips and tied Espio from a tree branch, upside down. Drago evilly grinned.

"I've been waiting all summer for this."

"Hey!" Someone kicked Drago in the face. That "someone" was a black and white female cat with misty blue eyes. "Pick on someone your own size, polar bear."

"I'm a wolf!"

"Don't care. Geoffrey, release the chameleon and get him outta here!"

"Got it." Espio felt himself hit the ground. A skunk was holding a penknife. "Heh, sorry mate."

"'Bout time you showed up." He moaned as the skunk helped him to his feet and ran towards the building. Lightning growled.

"I'm getting my money. Patch, deal with the cat. I'll go on ahead."

"Oui." Patch nodded as Lightning dashed off, leaving the cat to do some heavy lifting.

"Patch, huh? See where you got the name."

"Grrr...shut up, ze swine! Prepare to be annihilated." He charged, only for the cat to do an aerial somersault and for her high-heeled boots to kick him in the back of the head, knocking him out.

"That is why you don't mess with Hershey Cat of the Gym Club." The cat, now known as Hershey, taunted, tying both males together against the trunk of the oak tree. She huffed from effort. "Now, where did St. John go...?" She wandered around for a bit until she saw that Lightning had changed tactic. Geoffrey was still shielding him but now Lightning had a hostage: a small green-furred Seedrian with scared blue eyes. She saw the cat but made no sound when Hershey pressed her finger against her lips and gestured to the lynx.

"You'll harm a little girl!?"

"Oh, please St. John. I have no intention of hurting little...what's your name again?" He felt embarrassed about asking someone's name halfway through giving the two males a death threat.

"C-Cosmo..."

"OK. I have no intention of hurting little Cosmo here but I'll hurt her really badly if you don't hand over the money!"

"I'm sick and tired of your crap, Lightning! Blackmailing Ninja-Boy here is bad enough. Why hurt little Cosmo?"

Lightning didn't reply. Hershey also hit him in the head, knocking him out and releasing Cosmo.

"You OK?" Hershey asked the first-year. She nodded. Geoffrey looked over at the bruised chameleon.

"Sorry you had to go through this shit on the first day of term, mate."

"N-No, it's OK Geoffrey. Lightning does that."

"No doy." A female came from behind Hershey. Espio recognised the form of his little sister Liza, who was a female pink chameleon.

"S-Sis!?"

"Are you OK, big bro?"

"Y-Yeah, just a little banged up. It's happened before."

"Thanks skunk and cat." She dragged her big brother off, leaving Geoffrey and Hershey blinking in numb surprise.

"WE HAVE NAMES, Y'KNOW!" Geoffrey yelled, earning in Hershey doing a face-palm, a thing she rarely did.

"Leave it, Geoffrey."

XO

"Think you got the layout, now?" Manic asked, with Sonic chuckling nervously.

"No, but I'll quickly memorise it."

"Who is this?" Manic turned to see a green hawk leaning against the wall with a female pink swallow and a grey albatross as back-up.

"Jet, this is Sonic. Sonic, that's Jet, the current school EX Gear champion."

"The school does EX Gear competitions?"

"In May. Will you dare take me on?" Jet taunted.

"Like he's ever ridden them before." Wave chuckled, earning a glare.

"Have to! I actually have a board. Didn't bring it with me but I can ask dad to drop it off or something."

"Well, aren't we experienced?"

"Wave, leave the kid alone." Jet snapped, his head snapping around. Wave fell silent. Storm just heartily chuckled, making Wave punch him on the arm.

"Ow!"

"Shut your mouth, you lug."

"Anyway!" Jet shut the two up. "You'll have to race me sometime, hedgehog. Sonic, was it? Well, gotta go. See ya around!" The three birds disappeared to their respective tower. Manic huffed.

"Jet is so full of himself. Those three are known as the Babylon Rogues and have won gold, silver and bronze at every competition around the city for several years. Jet joined NMA last year and Wave and Storm are seniors and are graduating. They met in junior school. NMA has a junior school branch called NMJS (New Mobotropolis Junior School) and, since then, they've won tourney after tourney."

"They've won every year?"

"Yup. Biggest over-cocky bastards you'll ever meet." He then came to a door with 101 on it. "Guess this is your room."

"Cool. Question, how did bag control go?"

"Thanks to some fast-talking and some fast-stashing...all clear."

"Y-YOU STASHED IT?! WHERE!?"

"Uh-uh. I'm not tellin'. Only Shadow and I know and he's under an oath of secrecy. See ya, bro." Manic went off, chuckling to himself. Sonic face-palmed.

"What an idiot…"

"You're new, right?" Sonic turned around. The boy who was addressing him was a brown-eyed white and navy-striped hedgehog who was wearing a dark overcoat under his clothes and gloves. He wore boots on his feet. He was smiling. "Manic's stepbrother, right? Knux was telling me."

"U-Um…yeah. I'm Sonic."

"Quinn. Nice to meet you Sonic." The two shook hands. "It's about time you met the boys in your year. I'll show you where the relax lounge is. Each year group has two: one for boys, one for girls. They're locked at night ever since…" He trailed off, shuddering. "…Nikki…"

"Who is Nikki?"

"Nikki was a student here 5 years ago and was Nicole's older sister. Nicole is in the year below us. Nikki was academically gifted in science and maths and really wanted to become a proper academic like her father Dr. Ellidy, who teaches maths here. However, many students beat her up regularly in jealously and, eventually, she took her own life."

"She what?"

"Killed herself. The girls in her year found her body in their relax lounge. She hung herself."

Sonic had been shocked into silence.

"A-And this was 5 years ago?"

"Yes. Nikki is the only one who had ever contemplate suicide and to actually go through with it. There was a close encounter last year with Rosy but she survived."

"Rosy?"

"Amy's older sister. Near identical but a bit messed up in the head. I only know this because I accidently overheard Amy talking about it to Rob. I'm good friends with him."

"Uh-huh." They came to a large door and they pushed it open. Inside were 14 other boys, two of them instantly glared at Sonic as he came in.

Scourge and Mephiles.

 _Oh chaos…_

"Guys, this is Sonic. He's new this year."

"Cool! The name's Guntiver." A dark brown arctic wolf introduced, grinning. Sonic grinned back.

"I'll introduce everyone to you." Quinn cut in. "The red echidna is Knuckles."

"Yo." Knuckles greeted.

"The chameleon next to him is Espio. With them is Rob, the hooded hedgehog and Nack, the purple weasel."

"I prefer the name Fang, you know." Nack moaned, earning a playful punch from Rob.

"There is another student called Fang, Nack."

"I know! Copycat."

"You copied. He's older than you." Espio backed up, earning in him and Rob fist-punching each other. Nack glared at the two.

"Oh, shut up!"

"Anyway. The brown wolf is Shift. Try not to get him mixed up with Guntiver there."

"No hard feelings if you do." Shift chuckled. "Everyone does it."

"The moody mongoose in the corner is Ash. He's a musical guy but an emo." All Ash did to Quinn's fact was a "hmph".

"The large striped cat is Big and the brown wallabee with him is Walt."

"Nice to meet you." Walt heartily greeted. Big waved but he was stroking a Mobini frog that was lying on his leg.

"Froggy says hi." Big absent-mindedly greeted. Sonic chuckled.

"Tell Froggy I say hi back."

"The green platypus is Bill. He's an Egg Soldier."

"What's a…?"

"Someone who follows Ivo's rules without a care in the world. We hate those types." Shift groaned, earning in Bill huffing.

"He is the headmaster. I don't get why everyone rebels."

"IT'S WHAT NMA STANDS FOR!" Everyone but Big and Sonic yelled, earning in Bill reeling back off his chair. He sheepishly scratched his head.

"I rest my case."

"The duck with Bill is Speedy. He's Jet's worst enemy."

"Don't compare me to that idiot." Speedy growled. "He's just a rogue."

"The daydreaming lemming is Dive. He's one of the few "Underwater" Mobians here."

"I miss the sea." Dive whimpered.

"Stop it." Scourge growled. "Me and Sonic have met but just in case he has forgotten me, the name's Scourge, king of NMA."

"Yeah, I know. I haven't forgotten."

"Remember me, asshole?" Mephiles cruelly grinned. "Mephiles is my name and believe me, don't get in my way."

"I won't."

"You better not."

"Meph, what is your deal?" Espio had his eyes in amber slits. "You can't hate him already."

"Can. He did kick my ass on the bus. And Eclipse's."

"Only because you were beating up Manic and Shadz."

"Did mumsy ever tell you to not resort to violence!?"

Silence.

Sonic didn't respond but he did look away. Mephiles was enjoying this. He had found a weak spot. He was fast. He used that one moment of distraction to lunge at Sonic like a feral animal, thrusting him against the wall while holding him by the throat. Hard.

"Aww, lost your mum, huh? Can't have a family without her? Alone? Scared?" He taunted. Sonic didn't respond. His eyes were already drooping; his face turning an ominous shade of cyan.

"Mephiles! Leave him alone for Chaos' sake!" Knuckles yelled, rushing over to attack the dark crystalline hedgehog but Mephiles kicked him away.

 _I…c-can't breathe…_

"Right." Scourge cracked his knuckles and eventually pushed Mephiles as hard as he could, making him let go of Sonic. Quinn was at his side instantly. "Don't pick on little wimps like him like that! You could have killed him!"

"Oh, come on! I didn't hurt him THAT bad."

"You're no better than Lightning." Espio was trying to defuse the situation. "Just…calm down, both of you."

"G-Guys…" Quinn stuttered. He was leaning over Sonic, who looked unconscious. Bruising was forming around his neck. Shaking did nothing, the blue hedgehog didn't even groan. "I-I can't wake him up!"

"Oh god…Mephiles, what have you done!?" Dive looked like he was about to punch Mephiles.

"I-I-I wasn't trying to seriously hurt him! Honest!"

"Yeah, right!"

"H-He's…I mean, he's not…"

"No, Nack. He's breathing fine…I think."

"Phew!" Dive exhaled in relief. "Should I go get…?"

"I'll get Hope. You lot stay here." Scourge rushed out. Mephiles growled to himself.

 _I'm gonna get detention now on the first day…that's just great. Thanks temper, thanks a lot!_

"If Manic and Sonia learn about this, I'm dead, aren't I?"

"Yep." Everyone piped. Mephiles left the room then but no-one seemed to care about him. After a few shaky minutes, Scourge returned with a tall blonde-haired Overlander who was wearing an orange top under black dungarees. This was Hope Kintobor, the school nurse. She leant over Sonic and assessed him.

"He'll be OK. His breathing seems to be regular. Who did this?"

"Mephiles." Came the chorus.

"Where is he?"

"He left." Quinn informed. "Shall I go get him?"

"No, I'll talk to Ivo about this later." She felt Sonic's neck for a proper pulse check but when her face grew ashen, everyone knew something was up. "His pulse is slower than it should be."

"That's…bad, right?"

"Of course it's bad, Rob!" Knuckles chewed the hedgehog out. Rob shuddered and stayed quiet.

"Best take him to the infirmary…just in case." She gently picked Sonic up and carried him out the room with ease.

"For an early-twenties girl, she's strong." Dive whistled, earning several pairs of bewildered eyes. He bit his lip, also staying silent. Quinn was quick to catch up with the Overlander but stopped outside Tower B (for Sophomores). He knocked. The tower's dorm advisor, a robotic monkey called Coconuts, answered the door.

"Can I help you?" His voice was like a child on drugs; extremely high-pitched and didn't sound natural. Quinn hated Coconuts with a passion but he swallowed that hatred.

"I'm…looking for Sonia and Manic."

"Oh, OK. Stay here a sec." The monkey disappeared into the shadowy corridor and returned 4 minutes later with both hedgehogs.

"Oh, hey Quinn. What's up?"

"Manic, did something happen on the bus between Sonic and Mephiles?"

"He beat the crap out of them, yeah. Why?"

"You two need to come with me." He ran off, with Sonia and Manic following in confusion. Coconuts scratched his head and sighed in extreme annoyance.

"Remind me why I sighed up for this job…"

XO

 **Ending it there! Mainly because I don't do chapters that are longer than 6000 words (leeway either way is fine)**

 **Pairings that we know about or I am going to reveal are below:**

 **Scourge and Fiona – DATING**

 **Nicole and Elias – DATING**

 **Antoine and Gabi – RECENTLY HOOKED UP**

 **Shadow and Rouge – DATING**

 **Barby and Walt – FRIEND-ZONED**

 **Tails and Cream – FRIEND-ZONED**

 **Sonia and Bow – DATING**

 **Geoffrey and Hershey – SECRET CRUSH**

 **Manic and Sequin – DATING…?**

 **Now, who is in each year? What SEGA characters have I chosen? There are 5 year classes at NMA with 32 students each (16 girls, 16 boys). That equals 160 students. Some may be omitted later.**

 **Freshmen/Eighth Grade (1** **st** **Years): Gold the Tenrec, Cinder the Pheasant, Tikal the Echidna, Maria the Hedgehog, Cream the Rabbit, Cosmo the Seedrian, Helen Wheeler, Frances Burns, Sonar the Fennec Fox, Pearly the Manta Ray, Beth the Shrew, Zooey Fox, Matilda the Armadillo, Liza the Chameleon, Marine the Raccoon, Sasha Cat, Tails Prower, Silver the Hedgehog, Cyrus Lion, Dylan Porcupine, Charmy Bee, Ray the Flying Squirrel, Wombat Stu, Bean the Dynamite Duck, Spike the Porcupine, Miles Prower, Ben Muttski, Christopher Thorndyke, Danny Clarke, Chip/Light Gaia, Snaggle Tiger and Rory Bear**

 **Sophomores/Ninth Grade (2** **nd** **Years): Amy-Rose Hedgehog, Blaze the Cat, Sticks the Jungle Badger, Nicole the Holo-Lynx, Honey the Cat, Jian the Tiger, Lyco Wolf, Leeta Wolf, Daisy the Seedrian, Echo the Dolphin, Coral the Betta, Carrotia the Rabbit, Mindy LaTour, Molly Jones, Shade the Echidna, Sonia the Hedgehog, Jet the Hawk, Hamlin Pig, Manic the Hedgehog, Bow Sparrow, Mighty the Armadillo, Jason the Hyena (OC), Larry Lynx, Dave the Intern, Geoffrey St. John, Razor the Shark, Remington, Patch D'Coolette, Antoine D'Coolette, Tommy Turtle, Mello Bee and Marcos Wolf**

 **Pre-Juniors/Tenth Grade (3** **rd** **Years): Sally Acorn, Alicia Acorn, Mina Mongoose, Bunker the Tortoise, Julie-Su, Hershey Cat, Galaxina the Seedrian, Princess Undina, Perci the Bandicoot, Nicolette the Weasel, Cassia the Pronghorn, Clove the Pronghorn, Sara the Cat, Merlina the Hedgehog, Shahra Monkey, Mariposa Butterfly (OC), Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, Rob o' the Hedge, Espio the Chameleon, Quinn the Hedgehog, Ash Mongoose, Guntiver the Arctic Wolf, Walt Wallabee, Bill Platypus, Nack the Weasel, Dive the Lemming, Scourge the Hedgehog, Shift E. Wolf, Mephiles the Dark, Speedy Duck and Big the Cat**

 **Juniors/Eleventh Grade (4** **th** **Years): Rouge the Bat, Bunnie Rabbot, Rosy the Rascal, Sequin Fox (OC), Saffron Bee, Maria Wolf, Abyss the Squid, Opal the Jellyfish, Uma Arachnis, Thorn the Lop, Arashi Lynx/Conquering Storm, Aurora-La, Lumina Flowlight, Penelope Platypus, Relic the Pika, Gabi the Red Panda (OC), Shadow the Hedgehog, Alan the Quail, Friar Buck, Munch the Rat, Elias Acorn, Flip Penguin, Bark the Polar Bear, Falke Wolf, Kragok, Boomer Walrus, Rotor Walrus, Jack Rabbit, Jolt the Roadrunner, Avery the Bear, Ken Khan and Cobar**

 **Seniors/Twelfth Grade (5** **th** **Years): Buns Rabbot, Fiona Fox, Dulcy Dragon, Breezie the Hedgehog, Lien-Da, Mari-An, Barby Koala, Erma Ermine, Sealia Seal, Lupe Wolf, Blade the Dolphin, Thunderbolt the Chinchilla, Zeena the Zeti, Elise the Hedgehog, Megan Acorn, Wave the Swallow, Storm the Albatross, Ashura the Hedgehog, Vector the Crocodile, Fang Wolf (OC), Shard/Metal Sonic v2.5, Augustus the Polar Bear, Ebony Hare, Maw the Thylacine, Bearenger the Grizzly, Drago Wolf, Lightning Lynx, Predator Hawk, Tex the Lizard, Eclipse the Darkling, Valdez the Chameleon and Thrash the Devil**

 **XO**

 **Dorm Advisors are easy:**

 **Freshmen: Dingo the Dingo**

 **Sophomores: Coconuts the Monkey**

 **Pre-Juniors: Sleet the Dog**

 **Juniors: Cubot**

 **Seniors: Orbot**

 **I'll reveal the teachers next chapter. Anyway, enjoy this!**

 **XO**

 **Next time…**

 **Sonia and Manic get their revenge on Mephiles**

 **More tensions between Nicole and Elias**

 **Who is Sonic's real brother?**

 **Ebony and Scourge fight over affections for Fiona**

 **And more!**


	2. Already in Pieces

**This chapter contains: references to suicide, racist bullying (for AIs) and swearing**

 **Mariposa's speech which is in Spanish is in italics. Translations are at the end.**

 **XO**

 _ **Chapter 2: Already in Pieces**_

"You have got to be kidding!?"

The yell was Amy's. She had heard from Sonia about what had happened to Sonic. According to her, he was fine but was getting a hospital check-up as was school rules.

"Amy, you OK?" A lilac cat called Blaze asked. She was another of Amy's close friends.

"Am I OK!? Not when my BF is worried about her brother!"

"I'm sure Sonic will be fine." Nicole assured, sipping from a carton of apple juice. A distance from her, an orange Goth-dressed echidna, Shade, snorted.

"Zip it, nanite." Nicole cringed at the echidna's comment. Nanite was the worst term for AIs and other robotic Mobians. Since she was an extremely-advanced living hologram (as "Nicole" was the name for her computer system which was designed by her good friend Sally, who was in Sonic's year), the name could be used. Shade received a gracious look from Mindy, a ginger-haired fox who was known for her snooty personality and her hatred for people who were "out of society" such as AIs. It was clear Mindy was about to say the same thing.

"What exactly happened?" A black and gold cat called Honey inquired, looking up from her PS Vita, where she was playing Danganronpa 2. She was in the middle of the 1st Class Trial. Amy sighed.

"Mephiles and Eclipse were attacking Shadow and Manic on the bus but Sonic managed to attack them both on his own."

"That's...impressive. I don't think anyone has actually stood up to those two before." Echo mused. Amy glared at her for the interruption but again sighed.

"Well...when Quinn was introducing Sonic's year-mates, Mephiles attacked him. Well, more like strangled him. He's already been put into isolation. Sonia said it'll just leave bruises for a few days but he's hasn't come around yet."

The room was silent.

"U-Um...if I may say something..." The voice was coming from a moss-green and red Seedrian. Her name was Daisy. "...Me and Galaxina know Sonic because we went to the same school for a while."

"Which one?" Honey asked.

"Um...Ivanhoe. Y'know, the daytime school on Angel Island? Sonic didn't exactly get good treatment there so he transferred out. We left a few months later after our parents split up."

"So...he's been beaten up before?"

"Dozens of times. Guess he's used to it."

"Sonia did say he kept transferring schools because of bullies." Amy recalled Sonia telling her on the bus. There was a few moments of silence before Shade roughly groaned and slumped in her seat.

"Gee, I hate waiting. You'd think the check-up would be over in a few minutes."

"Shade, it's not that easy." Mindy harshly commented. "Check-ups are quite varied and can take more time than you'd expect, especially if one was strangled."

"Well, yeah...but..."

"No buts." Shade stayed silent. Sometimes she got along with Mindy, sometimes she didn't. They had a...complicated friendship.

XO

Everything was blurred. He knew straight-away that he was no longer in the lounge. That much was for sure, seeing all he saw was brilliant white. His throat hurt. He tried moving but that just made his body ache more.

"Shush, take it easy, Sonny Boy." He knew that voice. A blurred teal shape sat next to him. He instantly knew the form of his Uncle Chuck. "Heh, glad to see you're awake at last." He wanted to speak but all that came out of his mouth when he tried was a raspy wheeze. That annoyed him. Had Mephiles hurt him that bad? Last thing he remembered was the snake-eyed hedgehog thrusting him against the wall, his hands enclosed around his neck. He felt Chuck stroke his arm. "Everything's OK, Sonny." He then realized his eyes were producing tears, which was weird as he didn't feel sad about anything. He had expected something like that to happen. Mephiles was being Mephiles. He just didn't expect to be nearly strangled to death.

 _Typical Mephiles, bet he does that to everyone._

He tried to talk again, this time being able to rasp a few words.

"H-How long was I out?"

"You shouldn't talk Sonny, it'll just hurt. To answer your question, you've been out for some hours, but you're awake now. There's no damage to your neck apart from the bruising but they were keeping an eye on you from the hospital instead of the infirmary just in case anything...you know...bad happened." He nodded in understanding. He looked down at his throat. There was no brace or anything but he could feel something painful running across the middle intersection of his throat.

 _Those must be the bruises._

He felt himself sink into his pillows. He hated lying around doing nothing. He had been in hospital once before with broken bones (a story he _didn't_ want to remember) but at least this time he hopefully didn't have to stay long. Chuck seemed to read his mind.

"One of the doctors said that once you feel OK, you're free to leave but at the moment, I don't think that is wise." He hated to admit it, but Chuck was right. He was still dizzy and his vision was still blurred and possibly doubled. He also felt like he had a migraine. The last thing he needed was for his recklessness to go full throttle and for him to faint dead away. All he did was sharply exhale and he closed his eyes, hopefully for him to drift off into sleep.

Seeing his nephew wanted some time alone, Chuck nodded to himself and got up, a smile plastered onto his face. Sonic never changed.

"Hey, Chuck." Sonia greeted as he entered the waiting room. Manic and Quinn were there. "Anything?"

"He's awake but he's still a bit out of it."

"No joking." Manic snorted. "I want to punch Mephiles in his whatsit."

"Manic, that's a bit extreme." Quinn inched away from the green hedgehog. The last thing he wanted was for another person to get hurt, even if that "person" was Mephiles. "We'll get back at him another way."

"Says the pacifist."

"Who said I was a pacifist?"

"You hate violence."

"So? Is that wrong?"

"In NMA? Yes."

"Jeez, you two suck." Sonia pouted, getting irritable faster than a comet. "I hate to agree with the more violent choice but Manic's right. Mephiles has to be dealt with…at all costs…"

"Remind me why I'm involved again?"

"You're the decoy so we can lure him into any trap we may set for him."

"Decoy!?" Quinn reeled back, taking Manic by surprise. "I said I wasn't getting involved! OK, yes, it was wrong of Mephiles to attack Sonic like that but I am not getting into a revenge bout. And I am certainly not playing decoy." He walked out, shaking his head in faint annoyance. Manic and Sonia glanced at each other.

"Remind me again why we're friends with him. He's…weird." Sonia looked away from the doorway.

"One of these days I'll find out why he's so against violence…just you wait."

Chuck, who had been silent throughout this discussion, leaned back in his chair and sighed.

XO

As Quinn headed back to NMA, which was only a small walk from the hospital, thoughts were swirling around his head.

The one thing he hated was fights. Fights on any level just…made him badly cringe. He glanced self-consciously at his arm. The reason he hated violence was because of something in his past. He had been attacked violently one day with a strange Mobian with a knife and had lost the usage of his right arm. To make matters worse, he was lured by the false promise of having it fixed and was almost roboticized by the same Mobian, only for the machine to explode (killing said unknown Mobian) and left his arm in the state it was. He had adapted but it didn't take away the painful memory. Luckily, no-one at NMA knew about the accident or the fact one of his arms was cyber. He even had to sit out of PE because of it and had to lie about having "back problems" to get out of it. It had worked, but he felt it was only going to be a matter of time before the secret would get out.

"Hey, Quinn." Quinn looked up. Sitting on the school gate was a pink female butterfly. She had blonde locks falling down her face and wore a pretty black and pink dress that came to her knees. On her feet were dark pink shoes that laced up her legs like ballet pumps. Her wings matched her dress and were shimmery in the sun. Her eyes lit up a sapphire blue. She spoke with a slight Spanish accent.

"Oh, hey Mari."

"Mariposa! Jeez, I hate that nickname. How about I call you Quinny?"

"Don't you even dare."

"OK, OK, I won't." She landed. They were in the same year but Mariposa was a bit taller. "How's the blue hedgehog? Rob was telling me about it."

"OK. No damage or anything. He just needs to rest. Probably won't come in until tomorrow."

"That's good. The last thing we want is a student getting slaughtered on the first day."

"That's a crude way to put it."

"Whatever, Quinny." Quinn gritted his teeth. "Got to go. I and my boyfriend are going to float around the school's mall. Want to come?"

"I'm not into shopping." He then stopped. "Are you and Ebony still going out!? He's two years older than you and he's a right…" He struggled to find a word so did the cuckoo-finger to show his point. Mariposa looked offended.

"I love Ebony, OK? Maybe you're just jealous because you don't have a girlfriend." She laughed. "Toodle-pip Quinny." She flew off, laughing to herself. Quinn bit his lip to stop himself busting a fuse or two. He was always at odds with that girl. He shook his head and continued walking, refusing to acknowledge the fact that he wasn't into romance.

XO

"Why are you in isolation?"

Mephiles glared at Merlina, a girl in his year. She was a burgundy hedgehog who wore a long medieval dress that was covered in hot pink, gold and black. Gold swirled around her misted amber eyes. A black rose sported the top of her head. She was smiling devilishly.

"I attacked Sonic."

"Uh...who?"

"Sonia and Manic's stepbrother. He's new this year but he's in our year."

"Why did you attack him?"

"Revenge for beating me and Eclipse up on the bus."

"Sounds like a bully to me." Mephiles looked sideways at the girl. A thought came to mind. If he could build Sonic's reputation as a bully, he would be friendless and alone. For him, it would be the perfect entertainment. Maybe…he could get away with _other_ things…

"Oh, he is." He overacted. "So mean and violent!" Merlina took the bait. She cupped her mouth.

"As soon as we get out of here, we'll make mincemeat of him."

"Hang on, why are you in here anyway, Merlina?"

"Kind of got caught attacking Mindy."

"Mindy…the snooty fox bitch?"

"Yup."

"Why do you hate her?"

"She's a slut. Do you know how many boyfriends she has had over the years? Apparently she's dated all the guys in her year at least once."

"True that. Some people were telling me. She even dated me…for 4 weeks. She said I was too "dark" for her tastes."

"You agree she's a slut."

"Deffo." He drummed his fingers on the desk. "So…got a plan for Big Bad Blue? I haven't."

"I do."

Silence.

"Well?"

"Oh, sorry. I was thinking we purposefully make him angry so he takes his anger out on innocents…that would make the story all the more believable, right?"

"You are so devilish."

"I know. I know."

XO

 _This is ridiculous. I should be mingling with my new mates, not lying around in a hospital bed!_

His legs already felt stiff. He then glanced at the clock. An hour and a half had passed. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and he gently eased himself in a sitting position. His vision span slightly but he didn't feel dizzy. He scooted to the side of the bed and carefully placed both feet on the floor. He managed to get to his feet. That's when he began feeling sick.

 _God, what did Mephiles DO to me?_

His bruising had gone down but it was clear it would take a few days for both his neck and his voice to go back to normal. For the moment, he had to deal with a raspy croak. He shook the bad feeling off and began slowly walking. He kept swaying so he kept one hand on the wall for balance until the swaying felt under his control. As he reached the doorway, someone was coming the other way. Chuck.

"See you're up and about, Sonny."

"Yeah, couldn't lie in that bed any longer." He croaked, mentally cursing Mephiles as he growled in his head. He let go of the wall to get balance. Unfortunately, his body had other ideas. No second later after he stepped forward to leave, his leg crumpled. Chuck was quick to catch him. Sonic wasn't happy with this. Why had he fallen?! His uncle had him in a tight hug, making sure he was OK. "Unc, I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

"You sound just like Aleena." He never called Aleena "mom", at least not often. He did at home but not in public. After all, she wasn't his REAL mom. Not only that, but his leg hurt. It had crumpled obviously in an awkward way. He prayed he hadn't broken it. He pushed Chuck away and managed to get to his feet, with pain tweaking up his shin as he did so. He painfully bit his lip. He saw Chuck was looking at him smugly, one eyebrow rose. After a brief period of silence, Sonic groaned loudly. "OK, it hurts. Happy?"

"Yes. It's probably a sprain. If it wasn't, you would be crying your eyes out."

"I'm not a cry-baby, Chuck!"

"I know, I'm teasing."

"I don't find it funny." Chuck implying he was a cry-baby made him remember what Mephiles had said:

 _"Hah, so upset you can't speak? You're such a wimpy cry-baby!"_

"Sonny, you OK?" Sonic realized tears were running down his cheeks. Damn emotions. Chuck had him by the shoulders. "Who did this to you?"

"Unc, I asked for it. This creepy hedgehog guy, Mephiles, was beating up Manic and Shadz so I taught him a lesson. Guess I paid the price, huh…?"

"No, he must have said something to you…"

"…" Sonic sighed. "Am I a wimpy cry-baby?"

"Of course not! Oh god, did I imply that?"

"Yes, you did."

"I-I didn't mean it in that way, Sonny." He embraced his nephew tight, much to Sonic's chagrin. "Did this Mephiles jerk call you this too?"

"…He mentioned mom. My real mom. It kind of made me…you-know…" Chuck understood. He knew Bernadette effectively abandoned Jules and Sonic when she decided to date some hot scholar graduate. She was 28 at the time. Jules was 25. This scholar…was 21 and really handsome. In a way, Sonic half-blamed himself for his parents' separation and sometimes hated remembering her. He guessed Mephiles had roughly brought up the subject, painful as it was. "Guess I'm just a soppy mess, huh Chuck?"

"No, you're not. You went through a rough childhood Sonic and the way you coped with it was remarkable. Take no notice of this Mephiles character. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Yeah…OK..." A smile crossed Sonic's muzzle. "Thanks Unc." He suddenly coughed as his neck began throbbing. Chuck shook his head.

"I told you not to talk."

"Shut up."

XO

"Right. Operation: Mephiles Revenge. Got any plans?"

"Why do we need drawn or written plans when I have a photographic memory?"

"Oh, sorry _Princess._ "

"You know I CAN'T STAND that nickname, Manic!"

"Aw, sorry." Manic sarcastically replied, smugly smiling.

"What are you two scheming?" The croaky voice of their brother entered their ears. He was standing over them, interested, arms crossed. Sonia was the first to react, flinging her arms around her brother happily. Manic stood too, smiling.

"Glad to see you're still alive."

"Oh, hah-hah, bro."

"We were really worried, Sonic." Sonia sniffed, now starting to finally cry as the reality of what happened sunk in fully for the first time. Manic was surprised it had taken this long.

 _She may have a photographic memory but she has very slow emotional reflexes._

"Where's Quinn?"

"He left ages ago. He left after we tried to include him in our plan to get Mephiles back."

"Oh no…" Sonic groaned, sitting and covering his face with his hands. "…you two are just making things worse."

"What?" Sonia blinked.

"Retaliating, to him, is a declaration of war! Do you want him to kill me properly?"

"U-Uh…no."

"Good. Stay out of this. He's in my year, not yours and it's also my problem, not yours!" He hadn't noticed he was shouting until his throat burned. He sighed to defuse himself. "Sorry, but I think I've made my point."

"OK, we'll stay out of it." The two turned away but Manic went to Sonia's ear. "Not."

Chuck, who had been sitting in his chair while listening to his niece and nephews ramble on, just playfully smiled and shook his head in resignation.

XO

"Question you guys, do you think Sonic's OK?"

"Knux, Quinn said he was fine."

"Guys…can I kill Mephiles when he comes in here?"

"No, Dive, you can't."

"Why not?"

"Dive, it's just like Scourge said, Sonic's fi…" The door opened slowly. Dive, ignoring the protests from Knuckles and Scourge, lunged at Mephiles as he went in, grabbing onto his head.

"Hey! Get off you little squirt!"

"Dive, that's enough!" Dive stopped scratching at Mephiles' rough crystalline skin and jumped off. This was possible because Dive was quite small since he was a lemming. Mephiles avoided eye-contact with his other roommates and bundled into a ball on his bed.

"He's…unusually quiet." Scourge remarked.

"Well, whattya expect? He effectively assaulted someone. Of course he's feeling sorry for himself."

"Can you stop reminding me?" Mephiles sniffed, clearly in no state to remember what happened mere hours ago. Even though his plan was to ruin Sonic's reputation, the memory of his assault was beginning to haunt him much to his confusion. Knuckles sighed.

"You're sorry, aren't you?"

"Half and half. I shouldn't have hurt him so bad, granted, but he started it. He attacked me on the bus. He's a bully. I was just…"

"Sonic is NOT a bully. That's the lamest excuse I've heard all day!" The echidna growled. "You were beating up his brother and Shadow. Of course, he was going to defend his bro and his bro's best buddy. You don't know anything about family except for Eclipse. Are you two even proper brothers? You're not even the same species."

That last bit stung. Mephiles hated to remember. Eclipse… _wasn't_ his real brother. He had no family apart from the young alien boy his parents had found and adopted when he was only 4 years old. Not only that, he didn't know what happened to his parents. When he was 10 (Eclipse being 12 in alien years but didn't know anything about Mobius so he took the role of "older brother"), their mum and dad were just…gone. Disappeared into the night, almost as if they had just dissolved into the night. They had been abandoned.

"Mephiles? Mobius to Mephiles!" Dive was waving a hand in front of his face.

"I said, go away you little squirt." The nickname was two-fold. The boy was annoying but squirt had water connotations as Dive was an "Aqua Mobian" as it was called. Dive flicked Mephiles' nose, making the dark hedgehog growl in warning. The lemming then backed off, realizing what he was doing was effectively toying with his life.

"Don't tell me you're making a ploy to get Sonic chucked out of school, Meph." Scourge warned, one eyebrow raised. Mephiles growled. Busted...

"You wouldn't." Knuckles growled.

"Oh, I would…with a little help from the Dark Rose herself."

"Merlina!? You're teaming up with that psycho bitch!?" Dive screamed. Merlina was a dark sorceress and she had been the prime suspect when the moon suddenly went pink the previous year (apparently, it was an accident but it freaked the planet out nonetheless). Mephiles smirked.

"The sooner something happens to that blue bastard, the better." Scourge could feel his rage rising. Knuckles backed away from him as he cut loose.

"How can you be so cold!? He's only been here a day! A FUCKING DAY! You can't just decide to hurt him the same day that you meet him! Sure, maybe he did attack you and Eclipse but only to protect Shadow and Manic! Ever think of that? No, you didn't because you haven't the slightest idea what compassion and friendship are!"

"WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!?"

"Why should I shut up!? Sure, I don't like the guy but nearly killing him earlier was going too far! You've probably got the new record for "Fastest Assault of New Year". It'll be in the yearbook! No, you won't even get a mention! Manic told me that Sonic has been through 5 schools in 4 years because of this sort of thing. Any idea what that does to a person!? So, if I may be so bold to ask, will you leave the sap alone!? If you don't, don't blame me if you wake up with broken limbs!"

"Scourge, that's enough!" Knuckles shouted, desperate to end the fight. "Can we just cool off?" Scourge was about to shout at the echidna but found he was lacking the fight to do so. He sharply inhaled to calm himself down and looked over at the crystalline hedgehog.

"Do I make myself clear, Mephiles? If you try and hurt Sonic, you'll have to face not only his friends but me as well."

"And me." Knuckles backed up.

"Me also." Dive grinned maliciously, earning in Mephiles groaning as he buried his face in his pillow.

"Kill me now…"

XO

"Nicole! Wait up, will you?"

"Oh, Elias. Sorry, I didn't see you." Nicole stopped walking. There were no classes on the first day as some people didn't show up until the second morning (mainly due to planes and whatnot). The red-haired chipmunk quickly caught up to the lynx.

"Why are you not replying to my texts!? I already apologized!"

"You did…but I swear I heard you talking to Mina not too long ago."

"I was talking to her because she was blocking my locker! Why are you getting so bent out of shape, sweetie?"

"Don't call me that!" Nicole yelled and she slapped Elias straight in the face.

"N-Nicole…"

"I don't want to talk to you ever again, Elias Acorn! You always say you're just "talking" to Mina but I know you love her deep inside. Heck, you keep blushing when she flirts with you! I don't want to be with you anymore, Elias. It's over, OK!?" She ran off in tears, leaving Elias stunned, shocked and a little surprised. He rubbed his cheek tenderly.

"What happened between you two?" A voice came. Turning around, Elias saw Sally standing behind him, her blue eyes also crushed. He didn't reply but Sally could guess what he was thinking. "Oh, Eli…" She embraced him from behind. "I know you didn't do anything wrong."

"…I didn't do anything? Yeah, right. All I did was talk to Mina because she was blocking my locker. We got talking even though I wanted to leave. She made me uncomfortable. Did Nicole really get the wrong end of the stick or did I seriously do something messed up?"

"Nicole is just being Nicole. After what happened to Nikki, she's paranoid around these sort of things. Thinks the world is out to get her. Just give her time. She'll bound back."

"Yeah, right." He wandered off, leaving Sally blinking.

"Um…OK. See you at dinner…?" No reply. "First day back and this happens…I think I need to talk to Nicole…" She ran off to Tower B, entered but found her way blocked by Coconuts.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you knock."

"Can it, Coconuts. Where's Nicole?"

"Nicole…the lynx girl, right? Went up to her floor."

"Thanks." She ran up the stairs twice at a time and knocked on the main door leading to the Sophomore Girls Floor (boys are on the first, girls are on the second – the ground floor was all extra relaxation space and a kitchen that both genders shared). A tall ginger-haired human came to the door. She smiled.

"Oh, hello."

"Um…hi…?"

"Oh, right. You don't know me. I'm Molly."

"Molly…I'm Sally. I'm in the year above. I'm looking for Nicole."

"Oh, Nicole…yeah, she's in the relaxation lounge." She led the chipmunk inside and Sally saw the lynx sitting alone in the lounge, tears flowing down her cheeks. "She came in really upset."

"Yeah, boyfriend issues."

"Oh, right. Best leave you two some privacy."

"I appreciate it, Molly." She nodded as the girl left. Nicole looked up to see Sally.

"Oh…hello Sally."

"Hey…are you OK?"

"Do I look OK to you!?" She didn't mean to snap as she hid her face as soon as she did so. "S-Sorry."

"Hey, it's OK. I'm just worried about you…and my brother. You've always been happy. I understand you'd be mad about the drunken kiss last summer but…"

"I know Mina loves him. She can HAVE him."

"Why are you being so negative?" She paused. "Is this about Nikki?"

Nicole froze at the mention of her dead sister's name. She shuddered as she remembered the news footage that told her that her beloved big sister was dead; suicide. At the time, she barely knew what the term meant.

"…I try not to think of my big sister. She was a wonderful person. She died because of you non-AIs…sometimes I think how disgusting mortals are. There are those who are kind and compassionate, like you Sally. I struggle to find the balance. I automatically think someone doing something to me is bad and I warp the story so it makes sense to me. Maybe Elias did just happen to bump into her. I don't know. Nikki's final straw was her boyfriend cheating on her."

"If I remember, Nikki's boyfriend's name was…"

"Yes. Zonic."

Sally couldn't imagine an intellectual academic and a stuck-up baggage-control security guard have a thing for each other. She guessed opposites did attract but it seemed that attraction just didn't last.

"I don't want to warp a story to make it look like a cheat. It's too late now. Elias hates me now…"

"I'm sure he doesn't. He knows about your condition and he knows you struggle with this sort of thing. Just talk it out with him. That's the best thing you can do."

"Maybe you're right." She cuddled her friend. "Thank you Sally. I needed this talk."

"Friends were designed to listen, right?" Sally chuckled, hooking a stray part of Nicole's ebony hair and tucked it behind her ear. "I'm always here to talk. I won't ever hurt you Nicole."

"I know. We've been friends with years."

"And that's not going to change." Sally stood, clasping Nicole's hand and also pulling her to her feet. "How about you and me wander around the garden? I heard the Gardening Club's roses are sprouting. One of them will make Elias' day."

"Are we allowed to take flowers?"

"Will they miss one?"

"…I don't know."

"Come on, Nicole. Let's go pick an apology flower."

"Alright Sally. Lead the way."

XO

"You're really coming back now? Is that really wise?"

"Bro, listen, you know how I am about hospitals."

"Yeah, I know. I know. You were a little tyke when you broke your ankle a few years ago."

"Manic, we vowed to never bring that up again."

"You two, can you stop arguing?" Sonia eventually raged, shutting both her brothers up. They were walking back to school with Manic walking close to Sonic in case he stumbled like he did earlier, which he heard from Chuck. As they crossed the gates on campus, someone was waiting for them. He was a fat-bellied Overlander with dark eyes behind his black-tinted glasses and had a long bushy ginger moustache. He looked expectant. Hope was hiding behind him. The truth why was obvious. She had told him.

"You three, I have been expecting your return." The man mused. All three shuddered. This was the principal, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, who was a massive douche and mostly everyone hated both his guts and his stupid school rules. "Hope has told me what has happened to you Blue. I believe you have only just transferred in. Am I right in assuming this?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

"At least you know where you stand. I'm glad. Anyway, Hope has filled me in on what occurred earlier. You're lucky you didn't receive injuries that were far worse…BUT I have to take into consider the attack on the bus. I believe Manic was involved as well?"

"A-Actually sir, don't completely blame Sonic." Manic begged. "He was just trying to defend us from Mephiles and Eclipse. He didn't want us getting hurt."

"Agreed…however, you unfortunately put yourself in the wrong as well when you retaliate even if it was you defending yourself and your friends. Considering these factors and the fact that you unintentionally caused your own injuries, you and Mephiles will serve detention together tomorrow after classes. Manic, as I can see you are about to shout a retort, I would rethink that action unless you want detention as well."

"I don't bloody care! He's my brother!"

"Stepbrother, Manic. Stepbrother." Sonic corrected. Manic glanced at him. They weren't meeting each other's gazes. Ivo's glare increased.

"Fine, be uncooperative. You will serve detention alongside said persons tomorrow as well." Ivo left with a huff and Hope shyly followed, shoulders hunched as she tried to make herself invisible. Sonic glared at Manic.

"You just had to get dragged in this as well."

"I'm not leaving you alone with Mephiles. I'll be there as a supervisor."

"Lame idea."

"Says the guy who got beat up!"

"I didn't get beat up! I got shanghaied!"

"Guys, can you stop being massive assholes a minute!?" Sonia screamed, resulting in two bamboozled pairs of eyes looking at Sonia. "Can we focus on getting back at Mephiles?"

"Oh yeah, forgot about that."

"Didn't I tell you to leave it alone!?" Sonic suddenly raged. Manic took him by the shoulders to make him understand.

"B-Bro…we're not trying to do this because of what he did to you, it's a general thing! He assaulted lots of people last year and it's obvious that over the summer he hasn't reflected on his behaviour one bit! We don't want anyone else going through what you did."

"I told you I would deal with Mephiles and it stays that way. You two will drop the issue and will leave this to me." He shook Manic off and then stormed away, growling. Sonia shuddered.

"Something tells me he's about to blow a fuse."

"That's Sonic for you, sis."

"What's this about someone called Sonic?" The two turned around. Standing behind them, one eyebrow raised, was a black hedgehog with dipped-dyed green quills and hairstyle and fell over his face a bit like Manic's. He had cold green eyes and wore a dark black jacket and leather jeans. Spiked bracelets laced his ankles and wrists. He wore a devilish smile.

"Hello to you too Ashura."

"Sorry, couldn't help overhearing your little conversation."

"Oh. Sonic's probably gone to knock sense into Mephiles. What's the betting one will die by the end of the term?"

"I bet end of the week. Mephiles loses the battle. I bet 4 dollars."

"I wasn't being serious, Manic!"

"Anyway!" Ashura raised a hand for silence. He was a senior so what he said went. "Who is Sonic anyway?" Sonia groaned then.

"Our stepbrother. He transferred in this year but he's in the year above us. The pre-juniors."

"I see. I'll have to introduce myself to him."

"Please don't." Manic also groaned. The two hated Ashura with a passion. "I don't want you two interacting. You're just too…dark for him."

"Oh, and Mephiles isn't?"

"They're year-mates! That's different!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm off." Ashura spat onto the pavement and marched off, darkly mumbling. The twins exchanged relieved glances.

"He's a real creep."

"Tell me about it, sis. He's worse than Ebony, Mephiles and Scourge combined."

"You forgot Eclipse."

"Oh, and Eclipse."

Ashura, who was still watching them from afar, was deep in thought.

 _Sonic…Sonia and Manic's stepbrother…do they mean…Maurice?_

Ashura shuddered. Maurice. He hadn't heard that name in a while.

Maurice…his little brother…was he and Sonic one of the same? If they were…did he still hate him? God knew. Ashura shook the feeling off and left the area completely, heading for the roof. The one place where he could clear his head.

XO

"Ebony! Where are you, my _amour_?" Mariposa called in the mall, floating from floor to floor in search of the black hare. What she saw made her wings almost freeze. Ebony was chatting up Fiona and, by the looks of things, she was enjoying his company.

"Yo, Mariposa!" Mariposa turned around. A green blur was running up to her. Scourge.

"Oh, _hola_ Scourge."

"Stop with the Spanish, Mari! You know I fail at foreign languages."

"Ooh, sorry. We have a problem. You looking for Fi?"

"Yup. Suddenly ran off. She's not answering her phone."

"There's your precious girlfriend." She gestured to Ebony. Scourge blinked and then his jaw hung limply in numb shock and confusion. It was almost comic.

"F-Fi…? And…i-is that Ebony!?"

"Yup. Told you I smelt a rat."

"Why were you dating Ebony in the first place? Y'know he's a lady-killer, right? He's the male version of Mindy LaTour."

"That slut in the Sophomore class? No, I didn't know."

"You do now. Leave this to me." He left the shadows, his fur standing on end. Mariposa facepalmed. "YO, EBONY!"

"Huh?" He turned to see the raging Scourge. He backed away from Fiona. "Oh, Scourge. Nice to see ya, mate! I…um…ran into Fiona while looking for Mari! Yeah, total accident."

"Oh, don't give me that!" Mariposa yelled, now deciding to show herself. "You were chatting up Fi!"

"And you were _loving_ you, weren't you babe?" Scourge's cold eyes were on Fiona, who was not liking this situation one bit.

"Scourgey, please. It's not what it looks like! He came up to me and his flirts were genuine. I decided to listen but I was about to push him away, honest."

"Liar, you were all into me!" Ebony exclaimed, trying to get some blame off him. Mari didn't let him and grabbed him by the ear.

"You are a right _rata traicionera_!" She flew into the air and threw Ebony to the ground. "Stay out of my life, you fucking _hijo de puta_!" She flew away, red in the face with rage. Fiona cringed, ready for the same treatment.

"Did you enjoy it?" Scourge suddenly asked, quite calmly. "Be honest."

"Ugh, yes. Go on, storm away like Mari did."

"It was Ebony's manipulations that did it. I wouldn't be able to believe you seriously fell for his charms. Just…don't like me catch you talking with him again."

"Noted, babe." The two kissed. "Let's get back to NMA. They'll be missing their king and queen."

"OK! I'll drive."

"It's within walking distance!"

"OK, OK! Calm down, my love." The two left arm-in-arm. The only one in the mall now was Ebony who weakly waved for assistance.

"U-Ugh…S-Scourge…F-Fiona…little help here, you guys…"

XO

 **Couples:**

 **Mariposa and Ebony – BROKE UP**

 **Scourge and Fiona – STILL DATING**

 **Nicole and Elias – IN JEOPARDY**

 **That's all for this chapter!**

 **XO**

 **Mariposa's translations:**

 **Amour: love**

 **Hola: hello**

 **Rata traicionera: backstabbing rat**

 **Hijo de puta: son of a bitch**

 **XO**

 **Next time on NMA:**

 **What will happen between Nicole and Elias?**

 **Amy decides to take matters into her own hands over the fight with Sonic and Mephiles**

 **Ashura reveals his identity to a certain somebody and Sonic's darkness fully becomes realized!**

 **Quinn and Ash are forced to be study partners...which is not good seeing as they hate each other!**

 **Stay tuned!**


	3. You Who I Hate the Most

**Onto the third chapter where the chaos really begins!**

 **As always, most students are owned by SEGA. Quinn is owned by V.G.B.305 and Mariposa, Fang, Sequin, Gabrielle and Jason are owned by me.**

 **This chapter contains: violence, blackmail and swearing. This chapter also introduces Dark Sonic in all his evil glory…if it is only for about 500 words…if that.**

 **XO**

 _ **Chapter 3: You Who I Hate the Most**_

He had to admit, the beds at NMA were comfy. He was lying on his back alone in his dorm-room. He hadn't bumped into Mephiles at least so for the moment; he was safe from the crystalline bully. The light suddenly went on, blinding him for a second.

"Why are you lying in here alone?" Sonic looked up to see someone he wasn't expecting. It was Ash. His jet-black headphones were hung around his neck, revealing multiple ear piercings on each of his yellow-furred ears. His black hair had ruffled as if he had slid them down quickly.

"Why are you here?" He croaked. Ash blinked a bit as he heard the damaged voice but then slyly smirked.

"This is my room as well. We're sharing with Quinn and Guntiver. I've nothing to do so I decided to kill some time." He went and sat on an adjacent bed. "Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression before, Sonic. I was in a bad mood. I tend to be."

"It's fine." He said no more. Ash wasn't getting it until he vaguely saw the dark bruises. He then understood and nodded to himself.

"Oh, right. You're avoiding talking because of your throat. Granted, that took everyone by surprise. Fucking bastard."

"He is. He's a right…" He stopped as his throat suddenly throbbed. Ash could tell just by looking at his face that it hurt badly.

"Maybe you should adopt the silent treatment on yourself. Just don't talk. Not only because it hurts when you do, but that croaked voice for yours freaks me out. No offense."

"N-no, none taken."

"What is going on in…?" It was Quinn. As soon as he stepped through the door and saw the mongoose, he stopped, his fur bristling.

"What's gotten you all in a twist?" Another voice came. Guntiver was behind the hedgehog. He too saw Ash and groaned loudly. "Of all the people…!" He managed to get into the room, mainly because Quinn was unintentionally blocking it and saw Sonic. "Oh, hey! You alright?" He got a silent nod and a gesture to show the wolf he didn't want to talk much to avoid unwanted pain. He got that. He glanced at Quinn, who shook his head in annoyance, gave the mongoose a distinct glare and pulled a book from his bag, which he began reading.

"Does Quinn hate Ash or something?"

"Yeah. He's the only person in the school he hates. It's mainly because when Quinn joined NMA during May last year, he tried to befriend Ash but the guy just dropped the F-word on him, so they became enemies. Not to mention, Ash was explicitly rude to Quinn."

"Why can't I be? The guy's just too weird, always being helpful and being a goody-goody two-shoe."

"Well, I wouldn't be caught dead being a grumpy emo music fanatic!" Quinn snarled back at Ash. The mongoose chuckled at the lame insult and pushed his beats back onto the ears. Sonic and Guntiver could distantly hear the beat of the rock music he was listening to. The two exchanged anxious glances.

XO

"Mari, wait up!" Mariposa turned around to see Scourge running up to her. He looked a bit of breath.

"What is it, Scourge?"

"Look, I know you're pretty pissed off at Ebony and Fi but come on, icing my girl out is a bit much, especially since she wasn't to blame for your ex-boyfriend's…tendencies."

"Fiona cost me my hunk of a man! I want nothing to do with her. She's a fucking _puta_." She flew off in angered hatred, leaving Scourge alone.

"What in this world is a "puta"?"

"It means bitch." He turned to see Sonia leaning in the doorway to the dormitory. "Are you making moves on Mari or something?"

"Heck, no! She and Ebony just broke up and she's blaming it all on Fi, since Ebony was caught trying to seduce her."

"They've been going out 18 months and she only realizes that Ebony is a lady-killer NOW?"

"Yup."

"And you…forgave Fiona?"

"I did. Mainly because I believe in second chances."

"...I see. Hey, you haven't seen Sonic, have you?"

"…No…no, I haven't, sorry. Probably in the boys' dorm. Dunno anywhere else he would be."

"OK, well thanks." She turned to leave and stopped. "Can I ask you one last thing? Do you know what Ashura's deal is? He seems to be stalking us...mainly me though"

"Ashura? That black and green hedgehog prick in the senior year? Haven't a clue unless he's hoping for a chance to sexually harass you. Remember what he did to Alicia last year?" Sonia shuddered. Everyone knew what Ashura did to Alicia. It was one reason why he had a class to himself. He wasn't allowed contact with girls usually because of his sexual pervertedness…if that was a word.

"I-I remember. OK, I'll keep my wits about me. Thanks." She left rather quickly. Scourge shook his head as he headed downstairs to his own dorm. Ashura stalking Sonia? He understood why he did it with Alicia. It was mainly because she was so damn hot. But Sonia? With her attitude and that _fur_? That confused him.

"Hey, Scourge." He turned as he saw Shadow walking up to him. He guessed the hedgehog had gone to see Manic. "Whattya doing up here?"

"I was talking with Mariposa. She broke up with that fucking bastard of a hare and she blames it all on Fiona. You?"

"Making sure Manic didn't get expelled for having booze and god knows else."

 _ **RING RING!**_

"Dinner time…great. What soppy excuse for food have they got this year?" Scourge moaned as he headed for the canteen with Shadow in tow. The ebony hedgehog looked extremely relaxed. "Question, what's with your little sister?"

"My sister? You mean Maria? Why're you asking?"

"All she does is gaze at the sky. She's a little…weird."

"She does tend to daydream a lot. She was probably waiting for the stars to come out."

"The sun doesn't set for another hour and a half!"

"Tell _her_ that. I try but she says she likes waiting. She wants to be an astronomer when she grows up. I'm always saying she's pushing it. Not many females get into that field of science but she's determined."

"She already has a goal? Sheesh, I'm two years older and I haven't a clue!"

"Really? You must have some goal in life, Scourge. Me? I kind of want to be a cop."

"You would. I mean, I've seen your toy-gun collection at your house."

"They properly work! They're not toys!"

"Keep telling yourself that." They pushed open the canteen doors and realized that only a small group of first-years were there. Maria was one of them. She was talking with Cosmo, a blonde-haired Overlander in a wheelchair, Helen, and a black female cat, Sasha. Maria glanced at her big brother and waved.

"Hi, Shadow!" She called, grinning innocently. Shadow wandered over to her.

"New friends?"

"Yup. This is Sasha and her pals Cosmo and Helen. They let me hang around with them."

"Oh, is this your big brother, Maria?" Sasha asked, getting a nod from both hedgehogs. "You must be Shadow."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Yo, Shadz." Shadow cringed. He hadn't expected some croaky voice to make him jump. He turned around, almost jumping again when he saw Sonic standing behind the two with his arms folded, his foot tapping quickly. He then saw the bruising around the hedgehog's neck, making his eyes widen.

"W-What the heck happened to you?"

"Mephiles attacked him." Scourge explained, getting a nod of appreciation. "It was kind of payback for whatever happened on the bus. At least, that is what HE said."

"Sonic beat him up when he and Eclipse attacked me and Manic."

"Oh, I see. I get it." He then patted Sonic on the shoulder. "I gave Mephiles a warning to leave you alone. Whether he will or not is a different matter."

"Do you want your food or not?" The chef called, annoyed. The group shrugged, grabbed plates and lined up to receive whatever nasty sludge they placed on the plates. However, they got a surprise when they each receive a perfect square piece of tomato-covered cheese-laden lasagne with a side order of a slice of garlic bread. For once, the smell was appetizing.

"Wow…this actually looks edible." Scourge mused, sitting and taking a tenacious taste. His eyes lit up. "And it is!"

"Must have gotten a different chef." Shadow agreed, sitting with him and also enjoying the cheesy taste of the Italian dish. "Ten out of ten."

"Mind if I sit with you two, big brother?" Maria asked.

"Aren't you going to sit with your friends?"

"They're sitting with Tikal and Amy. There's no room for me."

"Oh, OK. Warning: Manic will be sitting here as well and you know how boisterous HE is."

"I don't mind."

XO

On the other side of the room, Sonic was mostly sitting on his own. That was, until a shy silver-furred hedgehog wandered past, saw him sitting on his own and sat opposite.

"You're new?" He croaked. He had to admit, his voice sounded better than before but it still sounded completely unnatural, unnatural enough to scare the freshman.

"What happened to your voice?!"

"Ask him." He gestured to Mephiles who was sitting with Geoffrey, Antoine and a black wolf called Fang. The first year shivered. "What's your name then, kid?"

"S-Silver the Hedgehog. You?"

"Sonic."

"Cool to meetcha."

"Room for two more?" He looked to see Quinn and Rob standing near them. He got a nod.

"Oh, a new face. What is your name?" Rob asked Silver. He only mumbled his name but Rob heard it. "Silver? I see how you bare your name." He was talking as if he had stepped out of a Shakespeare play, seeing how dramatic he was talking. He even put an accent in.

"Rob, we've been over this. Stop talking like you've stepped out of medieval Mobius. You sound like Shakespeare." Quinn playfully scorned, pretending to punch Rob on the arm. The hooded hedgehog chuckled.

"My apologies, Quinn."

"Mind if we sit?" It was Sonia and Bow, who Sonic hadn't seen for the entire day. Sonia hadn't been with him, which was odd seeing they were a couple now.

"Not at all." Quinn answered. The table was more-or-less full. Silver only had one space next to him.

"Sorry, boys…and girl. Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full." The voice came from a lilac-furred cat that Bow recognised as Blaze, a girl in his year. She sat next to Silver after getting happy nods. She smiled at the white hedgehog. "You're a first-year, right? I'm Blaze."

"E-Er…Silver. I'm Silver."

"Nice to make your acquaintance, Silver." Her voice was so silvery that Silver suddenly felt a little intimidated by her but in a good way. As they ate and all talked (minus Sonic for obvious reasons), Sonic caught Mephiles's glance. The look was dark and threatening, making Sonic violently shiver. Quinn saw this exchange and gave Mephiles the look saying "I've-got-my-eyes-on-you". He just got a snort.

"You OK, bro?" Sonia asked, getting a scared nod, which didn't convince her but she didn't pry. Blaze also noticed something was up but she also didn't bring it up. Nor did Silver. In fact, for a few seconds, the table was completely silent.

"…So…" Blaze broke the ice. "…who are your study partners?"

"No idea yet." Silver shrugged. "I think I have some bear boy called Rory."

"You're lucky. I have Jian, that massive douche-bag." Blaze replied, her calm tone now irritated. Sonic looked at a sheet of paper his dorm monitor, Sleet, had given him.

"I have…oh, I have Espio."

"Espio? Oh, lucky. You two will work very well together." Bow nodded, bringing up his own sheet. "I have Marcos. Oh joy."

"Marcos? He's alright. As for me…I have…" Sonia's face fell. "Oh god…I have Mindy!? Seriously?"

"I'm with Knuckles, which is good. What about you, Quinn? Who have you been paired with?" Rob turned to his friend but tilted his head in confusion. Quinn was unnaturally silent unlike he deeply groaned.

"I hate the headmaster so much."

"Why?" Sonia asked as she swallowed some mince. Quinn's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"...I'm with Ash."

"Seriously!?" She began laughing, much to Quinn's annoyance.

"It's not funny!"

"It is! It's ironic! The only person you hate and you're paired with them!" She chuckled more. Sonic wanted to laugh too but his throat denied him that. Amusement was obvious in his green eyes. Rob and Bow exchanged humoured glances. At seeing the lack of support around the table, Quinn crossed his arms in a slight huff.

"Thanks for the _support,_ guys."

"Come, Quinn. We are only teasing. You mustn't take such things to heart." Rob joked, nudging his friend. He only got a sigh.

"I know you're teasing. It's still not funny."

"OK, OK. I get your point. You have my deepest apologies." He was using the accent again for a joke.

"Stop talking like that. Seriously."

XO

"Um...Elias?" Elias looked up to see Nicole and Sally hanging around his table, who he was sharing with a purple walrus called Rotor, an echidna called Cobar, a hyperactive helmet-wearing bee called Charmy (a first-year) and a golden hyena called Jason. Nicole had her head hung low, for see feared what reaction Elias would have for her actions earlier that day. At least she had Sally as back-up.

"Oh...hi Nicole." He slowly and lowly said. She took that as hate. Sally took over.

"Nicole has something to give to you. Nicole, go on." She took her hands from behind her back and carefully resting in them was a plucked red rose, its petals still wet from its last watering. Elias blinked and looked at Nicole cautiously. She had tears running down her face and was unable to find her voice. The other boys were silent and watched the scene in both earnest and curiosity.

"I-I-I'm sorry about earlier, Eli. I..."

"Nic, it's cool. I know you didn't mean it...it just took me by surprise."

"So...you don't hate me?"

"Of course not! I know you struggle with deciding if actions are good or bad considering...what happened...but I know this and I know you didn't mean to do any of that. Though that slap did hurt."

"I can still see it." She stroked the chipmunk's pink cheek where the slap still tattooed the fur. She sniffed and flung her arms around her boyfriend, who heartily returned it.

"Isn't Nicole two years younger than you, man?" Cobar reminded, remembering that Elias was a Junior and a fourth-year. Elias shrugged.

"Age shouldn't deny love."

"How philosophical." Jason moaned, stretching. Philosophy was one thing he hated. He hated religious studies and, well, hated school in general. He was a truant by nature and the school perfectly knew it. He even had a tag on his wrist that meant the teachers would know if he skipped any classes. Thing was, it was easy to hack into. He had blackmailed Shard, a robotic hedgehog student in the senior year, into hacking into the bracelet to "fake" his position. It may seem weird seeing he was only a Sophomore, but he knew something about Shard: he was pure robot, not a cyborg like Bunnie or a cybernised Mobian like a pronghorn called Cassia. Shard had evolved so much that this knowledge was his most guarded secret. Jason knew and had used this to his advantage. He even got money out of it. He wondered what else he could do with the dumb robot.

"ALRIGHT MEPHILES! YOU ASKED FOR THIS!" A yell came. Nicole turned to see Amy standing on a vacant table, a pink and gold hammer in her hands, an insane fire fuelling her eyes. She lunged and aimed for Mephiles, who dissolved quickly into the shadows and dodged. "NO FAIR! COME OUT AND PLAY!"

"What has gotten into that pink chick?" Someone asked. That "someone" was a green lizard called Tex who was in the senior year.

"Must have heard about what happened between Sonic and Mephiles." Manic butted in, popping his head in between the boys, Nicole and Sally.

"Who?" The lizard turned to the hedgehog.

"Sonic, my stepbrother. That blue hedgehog over there. Mephiles apparently tried to strangle him because Sonic beat him and Eclipse up on the bus when they attacked me and Shadow."

"…That DOES sound like something Mephiles would do." Cobar nodded.

"Precisely."

"WHAT IN CHAOS' NAME IS GOING ON IN HERE!?" Came a shout. Standing in the doorway was Ivo, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. Amy almost froze. Mephiles, unaware that Ivo was there (he can't hear when in his shadow form), shot out and punched Amy to the ground. Now angered, Amy launched a combo attack that soon became like a spam attack on some fighting game. Ivo's eye twitched until he had had enough. "ALRIGHT! MEPHILES THE DARK! AMY-ROSE O'HEDGE! MY OFFICE **NOW!** " Amy was the first to stop. Her hammer disappeared and she trudged to the office. Confused, Mephiles followed her, back arched as if he was walking like he was half-asleep. The room was silent for a minute. Sonic pushed his half-finished dinner aside and banged his head annoyingly on the table-top. If this day got any worse…god knows what he'd do. Though, he had to admit, it was kind of cool for Amy to stand up for him like that.

 _She's sweet enough…but a bit psycho._

XO

"WHY WERE YOU TWO FIGHTING!?"

Mephiles and Amy, who were sitting on small chairs, only exchanged hated glances and stayed silent. Ivo, realizing that shouting wasn't going to do anything, slumped in his chair and wiped the warm sweat from his forehead. All that shouting really did make him hot. Amy shifted uncomfortably.

"Right, let's do this calmly and democratically. Mephiles, you must have a reasonable excuse for your unacceptable behaviour. You already have one detention you haven't even SERVED yet. I ought to put you in isolation!"

Mephiles' eyes shrunk. Isolation. The worse punishment in-school, excluding suspension and/or expulsion. So bad it was rarely used. Stuck in that room all day, not even allowed out for recess. The only time you're allowed out the room is for toilet breaks and even then you have to be chaperoned. Even worse, if what you did was seriously bad, they were allowed to just let you sit there in the dark. Means getting out of work but you had to stay awake the whole time (there were night-vision cameras in the room). If they caught you napping, you could be suspended or, even worse, expelled.

"…However, you weren't at fault. According to CCTV, Miss O'Hedge over here started the fight. Well, Amy? Any explanation!?" Amy chewed on her lip and sighed.

"I was mad at Mephiles for attacking Sonic earlier, which I heard from my friend Sonia."

"Oh yes, Sonia and you are in the same year. Go on."

"I didn't want Mephiles to get away with it so I decided to confront him later. However, watching him chatting with his rogue gallery of friends in such a care-free way just made me snap."

"Snap like your sister." Mephiles taunted, earning in Amy starting to shake with rage.

"…Do not mention Rosy like that. It is not her fault she's psycho."

"Yeah, right."

"DO YOU WANT ANOTHER HAMMERING!?"

"AMY-ROSE! Please contain yourself!" Amy backed down then, hunching up small. Ivo groaned and rubbed a finger across his temples in thought.

"Amy, you will serve detention with Sonic and Manic tomorrow after classes. Mephiles…" A suspenseful pause. "…you will be put into Stage 1 isolation." Mephiles sighed in relief. Isolation had 2 stages: 1 was where you just did work alone in a solitary classroom. Stage 2 was the one where you were sitting in the dark. "Please leave me be. And no more fighting is to commence!"

"Yes, sir." Amy nodded, glared at Mephiles and left. The crystalline hedgehog followed. As soon as the door closed, a loud groan exited Ivo's throat as he span himself around in his chair in tiredness.

"Remind me why I signed up for this goddamn job…"

XO

"Hey, Sonic, is it?" Sonic stopped and saw Ashura watching him, his blue eyes staring right through him, so much so it made the pre-Junior shiver. "Sorry, I tend to stare."

"…No, it's OK. But…how do you know my name?"

"How do I know your name?" He repeated, approaching him. "Come on, you don't recognise me?"

"Huh?"

"Has it really been that long?"

"Hang on, backtrack…how do we know each other?"

Silence. Ashura sadly blinked yet a small grin crossed his face. Not a smirk like usual but a genuine sad smile.

"So you don't remember. Not surprising. Last time we met, it was when mom and dad split up."

It was Sonic's turn to blink blankly. His face suddenly went white.

"A-Ashura…?"

"Long time no see, Maurice."

"Please, call me Sonic. It's that now…man, I didn't recognise you."

"I recognised _you_. Can't mistake that fur and eye colour combination." He suddenly wrapped his arms around his little brother.

"Hey!" The two saw Sonia charging towards them as she pushed Ashura away. "Leave my brother alone!" Manic followed her, shielding Sonic from the senior, much to the blue hedgehog's confusion.

"Sis, it's OK. Ashura's a friend."

"Yeah, right! He's a stalker!"

"I only stalked you so I could find Maurice." Ashura pleaded. Sonic face-palmed.

"Again, it's Sonic now!"

"Maurice…?" Manic's face creased up in bewilderment. "…Who is Maurice?"

"Maurice is the hedgehog you two call Sonic now." Sonia and Manic looked at Sonic suspiciously.

"What is going on?" Sonia demanded. Sonic shrugged in resignation.

"Manic, Sonia…meet my older brother Ashura."

"BROTHER!?" The two screamed in unison, staring at Ashura, and then Sonic, and at Ashura again.

"B-But…you don't look alike…"

"Oh, this isn't my natural fur colour. I dyed it 5 years ago…just before I started at NMA. I naturally have navy fur."

"That's why I didn't recognise you!" Sonic beamed, now understanding. Sonia and Manic still didn't look convinced but they moved away from the two.

"OK…so you're Sonic's mysterious full-blood brother!?"

"Yup."

"…You are fucking kidding me…? Sonic's brother is a sexually-twisted bastard?"

As soon as he heard that, something snapped in Sonic then. He growled. Ashura immediately saw the signs and backed away. Sonia saw too and pulled Manic back. Sonic's fur had darkened alongside his eyes, which were black slits. Manic knew this form. It was the same one that they had seen on the bus only this time he knew the rage within was stronger than before. He remembered something his brother had told him: that rage sometimes took him over in, what he liked to call, his "dark" form. Sonic, or rather "Dark" Sonic, was walking towards them, his lips curled upwards in a sickening evil grin. A nasty chuckle came from him. Ashura pulled the two Sophomores behind him.

"I thought he would have grown out of this by now…"

"Do you know what causes this?" Manic asked in a panic.

"When Sonic was about 3, he had an accident that technically cost him his life. Mom managed to restore him using the Master Emerald but while he gained the ability to run at supersonic speeds and gave him his green eyes from the positive energy, the negative energy could turn him into a darkened monster, simply known as Dark, when he was filled with rage. He was uncontrollable but Locke, the guardian of the Master Emerald, said he would grow out of it eventually. Sonic can control Dark to an extent but when Dark fully has a hold, like now, it causes chaos…but this is the worst I've seen."

"How do we snap him out of it?" Sonia shivered in fear at this explanation.

"…Only one way…" He glanced at the two hedgehogs. "…How good are you at interference?"

"Not too bad. Why?"

"Distract him. Make sure he doesn't suss out my secret plan." He leapt behind them and hid in the shadows. Now in the open, the two nodded and began launching a series of kicks and punches, all of which Dark managed to shield himself against. Meanwhile, Ashura grinned when his secret plan's weapon, a special pendant charged with a crystal imbued with positive Chaos energy, flashed, signalling it was fully charged. He leapt out and shot the beam at Dark, striking him directly in the chest. A screech came from the hedgehog as a dark shadow floated into the air and dispersed. Ashura caught his brother as he limply slumped to the ground. "Phew…that was easier than I thought."

"That was that thing?"

"Oh, this?" He dangled the pendant as it made a sweet tinging noise, bit like a small bell. "It's an Energy Star, given to me by Locke himself. Changes negative energy to positive."

"But…Sonic's OK, right?"

"Yeah, just asleep. The beam induces a sleeping state. Best get him back to his dorm. I'll do that. You two go do whatever." He picked Sonic up properly and ran towards the third-year dorm. Sonia and Manic stood in numb shock.

"Um…sis…?"

"Yeah, Manic?"

"Ashura's cool."

"Too right."

XO

"Sonic did what?" Quinn asked, having not understood Ashura's explanation.

"You really didn't understand that?" Ash seriously looked…well…serious. "Sonic has dark energy. It transforms him when he gets seriously angry. Am I right, Ashura?"

"Correct amundo."

"Someone watches too much Doctor Who." Guntiver chuckled, glancing at the sleeping blue hedgehog. He didn't look like he was in any type of pain (thank goodness). He glanced at the senior. "But he'll be OK?"

"Yeah, he should be. Just…keep an eye on him, will you?"

"Sure thing." The arctic wolf nodded. Ashura nodded back and left. Quinn glared at Ash.

"I understood but I couldn't visualize it."

"Why on earth do you need to visualize it?"

"Helps me understand things, alright? You take everything in by sound, not sight. That's a bit prehistoric. One would think you were blind!"

"Anyway!" Guntiver broke up the argument. "Aren't you two study partners?"

"Wait, what?" Ash spluttered, almost choking on thin air. "Me…and Quinn…are what?!"

"Partners." Quinn irritably repeated. "And I'm not happy about it."

"Neither am I. Hey, Guntiver, who are you with?"

"Um…Big."

"Good luck there, mate."

"Ash, leave him alone!"

"Oh, touchy-touchy! I wasn't doing anything!"

"Man, you turn every little point of mine into a long-strung argument!"

"CAN YOU TWO QUIT IT!?" The wolf yelled, gesturing to Sonic. "We don't want to wake him up. We should just let him sleep this whole thing off."

"I've heard of negative energy causing transformations…remember Merlina's "insanity" episode last year?" Ash muttered. Guntiver nodded but Quinn tilted his head in confusion.

"Merlina's what?"

"Oh, right. You weren't here. It was last March. Merlina's magic went out of control and she became, what she called, the Queen of the Underworld. It was only thanks to the magic of Shahra, a girl also in our year, that she successfully depowered. That was when she became a right bitch."

"…That actually happened?"

"Yup. God knows what Dark is capable of. We have to make sure this doesn't happen again." Guntiver looked determined. Ash nodded in agreement. So did Quinn. A knock came at the door. Standing at the door was Amy. "Oh, hey Ames."

"Hi, Guntiver. Is Sonic there?"

"He's asleep right now. Sorry."

"Oh, fiddlesticks! Just…tell him to meet me by the fountain tomorrow just before our breakfast sitting, OK?" She left before she got an answer.

"Don't tell me she's planning a date…"

Amy glanced at the half-open door and watched it close.

"I wonder if they know this is all a date for me…? I want to know that blue hedgehog! He's such a dreamboat…maybe…he's my senpai? Yeah, he is SO my senpai! Mine, mine, mine!" She giggled mischievously. "If anyone hurts him…" Her eyes flashed dark. "…they'll die."

XO

She absolutely hated ice-breakers. All years had to compete in "ice-breakers" every night as a way of "bonding". They all had to squeeze into the hall (which, granted, was very big). They all sat in a huge circle. The only two people who weren't attending were Quinn and Sonic, who hadn't woken up from his Dark episode and, not wanting to leave his friend alone, Quinn had volunteered to look after him. The teacher in charge of ice-breakers, the cooking teacher Vanilla (mother to a freshman called Cream), clapped her hands. She was a brunette beige-and-brown furred rabbit lady, about early-30's and wore a beautiful black skirt with a white blouse that ruffled at the sleeves. It was no wonder some senior boys thought she was smoking hot. She just slumped and sighed. Next to her, her friend Sequin, a cyan fox with dark blue eyes, glanced at her.

"Something wrong, Relic?"

"No, but I hate these ice-breakers."

"I think they're fun."

"Right, students." Vanilla called. "We're going to play a challenge game…with added forfeits!"

That got everyone's attention.

"Right, Cassia, have you finished those Wheels?"

"Yes, miss, I have."

"Good, give them a spin and see which two unlucky students pop up!"

Cassia nodded and clicked on the two wheels she had designed on some roulette website. One was for girls and one was for boys.

"For the girls…we have…" The wheel stopped. Cassia buzzed in amusement. "…Sequin Fox."

"What!? Cheap!" Everyone cracked up laughing.

"And…for the boys…we have…" More buzzing. "…Tails Prower."

"Huh?" A two-tailed golden-furred fox freshman blinked blankly. Vanilla giggled.

"Right. Sequin and Tails…your challenge is simple. Who can climb the school climbing wall the quickest. We have safety harnesses ready so can you two please follow me?" She led them to the back wall of the wall where two rock-climbing walls were. They were Tetris-designed. Sequin glanced at the fox.

"Get ready to get wiped out, squirt."

"Oh, I'm ready alright!" He wasn't deterred, fuelling Sequin's desire to send him down a notch even more. Vanilla shouted go and the two began scrambling. Many of the students were cheering for Sequin. She was finding this easy. Just as she was about to reach for the last peg to pull herself up on, Vanilla shouted stop. She looked over and up. Tails had beaten her by a hair and was balancing precariously on the thin platform at the top of the wall. They then rappelled down and were de-buckled. Tails was given a medal for his win. Sequin dropped beside Relic, red with rage and hatred.

"I fucking hate that fox."

"Well, he won fair and square." She saw the fox showing his medal to Cream and Cosmo, both of them looking amazed and happy for him. Cassia spun the wheels again.

"This time we have…Fiona Fox…and Remington the Echidna."

Fiona and a brown-furred echidna with a black tuft of hair, Remington (who was a Sophomore) glanced at each other. They were tasked with doing an arm-wrestle. Remington won fairly quickly. As the evening went on, more games went on. Here are just a few:

Cosmo and Mighty went head-to-head in a cup-smashing tourney. Cosmo won because she was quick on her feet.

Bunnie and a green crocodile called Vector did a rapping competition. Vector won that one.

Amy-Rose and Rob did an archery contest with arrows ending with a sucker like with shower scrubbers. Rob won by a hair, which was surprising seeing archery was his LIFE. No-one came close to his level of skill.

"Right, I think that's enough for the evening. You are all dismissed." Vanilla called. She didn't realize that the time was ticking towards 9 o'clock, which was curfew. Everyone dispersed and left. Rob was caught up by Dive and Espio.

"How did you nearly lose to your cousin?" Dive inquired, looking up at the hedgehog due to his lack-lustre height. Rob just shook his head happily.

"She has improved. I gave her lessons over the summer. She's nearly at my level of skill now. My lessons paid off. I told her they would."

"You should tell Quinn when you get back." Espio suggested.

"He's looking after Sonic. Best if I leave him to it."

"You're his study partner, aren't you, Esp?" Dive reminded, earning a smile from the ninja.

"Yeah, I don't mind that. I have a feeling me and Sonic are going to get along well."

"Good thing he has you. You're really sensible and good at studying."

"Let's hope he's as studious as me."

"You think YOU'RE studious. No-one is more studious than Quinn. Remember his entrance exams? Nearly perfect marks. No-one has gotten those high scores before." Rob reminded.

"Tails nearly beat them. He got 6 marks off perfect. Quinn was 4."

"Yeah, I get that but he didn't beat him. If anyone can get perfect on any exam this year, I'll gladly buy them a huge chocolate bar with my allowance."

"Really…?" Espio glanced at Rob like he was crazy. "You WANT someone to go on a sugar binge?"

"I hope they wouldn't eat it all in one go!"

"Anyway, let's just get back to our dorm…I'm tired as hell." Dive suddenly yawned, stretching his arms as he did so. He wiped his eyes (as yawning does tend to make the eyes water).

"Good luck sleeping with Mephiles and Scourge." Rob taunted, eying Dive humorously. The lemming just turned his head away.

"I'll be fine, you watch."

XO

"How's Sonic?" Guntiver whispered as he and Ash slipped back into the room with Ash soaked (he had to do a water-bomb contest with Mariposa – he lost because she could freaking fly). Quinn almost laughed when he saw Ash's soaked form. He growled and went into the adjacent bathroom to shower.

"Alright. He's been quiet as a mouse, which is good, since he's been sleeping like a log."

"Good thing he doesn't snore."

"Oh, ha-ha Guntiver. What happened to Ash?"

"Water-bomb fight with Mari. He lost."

"Not surprising. She CAN fly. Plus, it puts him in his place."

"Quinn, seriously. Can you and Ash TRY and get along?"

"I did try! He's the one who didn't give me a chance! I'm sorry, but I just can't stand the guy."

"Can you idiots keep it down?"

The voice was Sonic's, even though his eyes were still closed. Both males bit their lip nervously.

"Sorry, Sonic. We'll be quiet."

"Thank you." He tossed over and thrust the duvet over his head, curling up into a cute ball. Guntiver silently chuckled.

"He's like a kid."

"That's a bit mean."

"I can still hear you." Came a muffled snarl from Sonic, who momentarily peeked to glare at the two. "Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?"

"OK, OK, we'll be silent."

"Oh, and another thing, I'm not a kid!"

"I didn't mean it in a bad way. I meant it as in that it's cute that you curl into a ball."

"Most hedgehogs do that, y'know."

"I don't." Quinn remarked.

"I said most."

"Hey, your voice sounds better." Guntiver pointed out. Sonic blinked at this. It was true, his voice had improved a little. It was still raspy and unnatural but at least his throat no longer throbbed every time he tried to talk. He still shook his head and disappeared under the covers again. That was the signal for all room-mates to go to sleep.

"Night." Quinn nodded as he slipped on some bedtime clothing and slid into bed. Guntiver did the same. Just when silence settled into the room, a scream came from the bathroom, alerting all three persons.

"ASH!" All three yelled in unison. Ash sprinted out, only dressed in a towel. Quinn rolled his eyes and peeked into the bathroom. Scuttling on the shower floor was a Mobini spider, earning a glare.

"You screamed because a spider?"

"It surprised me! You know I have a fear of spiders!"

"Yeah, yeah…just go to bed."

"Yes, _mom._ "

Sonic just laid there, silent, before face-palming. This was going to be one LONG year.

 **XO**

 **Nicole and Elias – STILL DATING**

 **Sonic and Amy – AMY HAS A CRUSH/OBSESSION ON HIM**

 **XO**

 **I explained what "puta" means. It means "bitch".**

 **XO**

 **Next time…**

 **Classes begin!**

 **Amy hopes her "date" with Sonic goes well but will he even turn up?**

 **The heat turns up for Mephiles as he faces isolation**

 **Relic uncovers a dark truth about Shahra and Merlina**

 **Please review, favourite and follow!**


	4. Open Textbooks

**Onto the classroom chapter! Yippee!**

 **As usual, I own no-one in this story except Mariposa, Gabrielle, Sequin, Fang and Jason as well as Quinn, who is owned by V.G.B.305.**

 **This story has assault, bullying, racist language (for AIs), mentions of suicide, panic attacks and references to attempted suicide. Dark, but I don't particularly care.**

 **Also, if you wonder why Amy bows to Sonic when they part ways, it's a typical Japanese/anime thing. It's the same with the armbands. Some Japanese schools have different uniforms based on age/school year. Clannad's school is an example of this. Years have different coloured emblems in that one.**

 **Citizenship is a stupid lesson I did in school between Years 7 to 11. It's mainly about society and how it impacts people, such as careers and identity. I put Luger as the teacher as I mainly ran out of adult characters.**

 **XO**

 _ **Chapter 4: Open Textbooks**_

The thing that woke Sonic up was the blinding light of the sun streaming through the curtains. That immediately made him fully awake. Damn windows.

"Morning." Sonic saw Quinn was also awake as he was reading a book on his bed quietly and had obviously heard him rouse. "Sleep well?"

"Like a log." Came the whispered reply. Sonic's voice sounded more-or-less normal, which was impressive seeing the attack was only yesterday. Not only that, but the blue hedgehog noticed his throat no longer scratched or throbbed when he attempted to talk at length. "I slept incredibly well. How about you?"

"Not too bad. I did wake up mid-way through the night but that's normal for me."

"The only thing that woke me up was Ash's girly scream."

"He's petrified of spiders, so I'm not surprised he freaked out. It was only a small spider though. What do you call them, money spiders?" He was in thought but then clicked his fingers in a eureka moment. "That reminds me, Sonic. Amy called yesterday before bed and said she wanted to meet you by the fountain before breakfast."

"Amy …that's that hammer-wielding chick, right?"

"Yup. I don't know why she wants to meet with you, but something tells me she has a thing for you…" He had a coy smile. Sonic scowled at him.

"Don't go making assumptions like that!"

"I'm sorry. Just joking around."

"Best get dressed then." He leapt out of bed and went into the bathroom, coming out 10 minutes later with soaked blue fur and a towel wrapped around him. He quickly dressed in a white t-shirt, dark jeans, a navy hoodie and his signature sneakers, which were red with a single white stripe connected with a curved rectangular-shaped buckle. He nodded to Quinn and then silently left. Quinn smiled to himself and went back to his book. The door suddenly opened. "Sorry…where's the fountain?"

"Back playground."

"Right." The door closed again.

XO

Amy was sitting by the edge of the fountain, throwing tiny stones into the water while she waited. She had been waiting since sunrise. She didn't know her love's sleeping pattern so it was impossible to know when Guntiver or Quinn would tell Sonic about her wanted meeting.

"Hey, Amy." She turned around and saw Sonic standing there, one eyebrow rose. Arousal came in Amy. Seeing Sonic up close made her heart quicken, even more so when he sat down besides her. He took in her appearance. She was a light-pink hedgehog with green eyes and wore a short light-blue skirt and matching blouse, decorated with a tight red ribbon, almost like Japanese school uniforms. Golden rings were around her wrists and she too wore white gloves. She wore burgundy shoes and dark socks that came to her knees. Besides her feet was a beige bag with multiple charms on the zip. He had to admit, she was a pretty girl, despite her looking younger than he was. "So…you wanted to meet me?"

"I wanted to meet you in person…that's all…" She was struggling to talk because of how hyped she was. He noticed straight off.

"Hey, you can relax. With how excited you are, you'd think I'm a celebrity or somethin'."

"Haha…sorry. It's just you're so…" She searched for a word. "…handsome."

"Really? Me, handsome?" He seemed surprised. "Listen, Amy…I'm not handsome in the slightest. I'm just an ordinary hedgehog student."

"No, you're handsome! I mean, your fur colour is unlike a shade of blue I've ever seen plus your eyes match mine!" She cupped her mouth. "S-Sorry…I kind of went off on a tangent…"

"No, it's alright. By the way, thanks for standing up for me yesterday…even if you got caught."

"I have got to serve detention with Mephiles today after classes."

"With Mephiles?" He groaned. "Welcome to the Club. Me and Manic will be there as well."

"What did you do!?"

"I attacked Mephiles and Eclipse on the bus, remember? Manic just backed me up and got called out for talking back."

"Sounds like Manic. I'm good friends with Sonia. She's your sister, isn't she?"

"Stepsister."

"Oh, right…" There was awkward silence until the bell distantly went for breakfast. "Want to sit with me and the girls?"

"Sorry, I was going to see with Quinn and his friends."

"Oh, I get it, sorry." She stood up and bowed. "It was nice talking with you, Sonic. Is that really your real name?"

"Heh, no. I have another name but Sonic is what everyone calls me."

"What IS your real name? I won't laugh."

"Alright, alright…it's…" He stuttered. He hadn't said his real name in so long. Plus, it was dead embarrassing. "…Maurice."

"Maurice?"

"Do not tell a soul!" The way his mood suddenly changed freaked Amy out a bit.

"I-I-I won't! Promise!"

"Come on, I'm starving!"

XO

"Mephiles! Over here, bro!" Eclipse called as an angry Mephiles stormed to their table and maliciously chewed on his bacon and egg. "Jeez, what got you in a twist?"

"Second day of term and I'm being put into isolation for the second time!"

"I heard what you did with that blue hedgehog." He side-looked at his adopted brother. "…I think you really showed him who is boss, plus you could have done something a little less…I don't know…deadly."

"I thought it was awesome when I heard about it!" Lightning grinned, munching his jam-laden toast. "I should do that with Espio next time! He still owes me 25 dollars."

"Let's not start that up again." Fang moaned, glaring at the lynx. "You blackmailed him so much over last year. Surely you've done enough damage. Plus, you probably scarred that Cosmo girl for life!"

"Oh, come on! I barely hurt her. Besides, freshmen always bounce back."

"Hey, Lightning." Lightning turned around to see an ocean-blue Seedrian, Galaxina, glaring at him, teeth bared in an angered snarl. "Rumour is you threatened to hurt my little sister."

"U-Uh…"

"He did." Fang nodded, earning in Lightning's jaw dropping.

"DUDE! WEAK!"

"Right." Galaxina grabbed Lightning by the ear and dragged him off, mumbling swear words under her breath. As she exited, the room, which had been stunned into silence, began talking again. On the other side of the room, Cosmo, who was sitting with Cream, Maria, Tikal and a sandy-furred fox called Zooey, face-palmed.

"Meet my over-protective big sister."

"Is she bi?" Tikal wondered. "I mean, she DOES ride a bike."

"Bi?" Cosmo blinked. "What's bi?"

"I know she's a bit masculine but still…" Zooey mumbled, too loudly it seemed as Cosmo heard and, realizing what Tikal meant, went deep red in shame and anger.

"My sister is not bisexual!"

"Relax, Cosmo, I was only joking! I know Galaxina's a proper girl…but it does beg the question to why she owns a navy Vespa…"

"Blame Dad! He taught her!"

"Oh, did he now? That explains a lot!"

"Please, can you two stop fighting?" Cream screamed, slamming her hands on the table. Cosmo and Tikal glared at each other and then nodded. "Good. Hey, Maria, I have 2 questions for you."

"Huh?" Maria snapped out of her daydream. "Oh, go on."

"First one is this: who is your study partner? I don't know who I'm with anyway."

"My study partner?" She pulled out a sheet. "Cream, I'm with you!"

"Are you really!? At least I'm studying with one of my closest friends. 2nd question: what is your favourite subject?"

"Um…probably Physics. I like learning about atoms and anything to do with how things work."

"Because you have an obsession with stars?" Zooey slyly smirked. Maria shrugged.

"Look, I want to be an astronomer."

"Good luck there. In the history of Mobius, there have only been 5 female astronomers and all of them were echidnas." Tikal nodded.

"Sounds racist." Zooey mumbled.

"In a way…but remember: echidnas did evolve much faster than us foxes, hedgehogs, rabbits and Seedrians." Came the reply from Tikal.

"Question Tikal: why do you dress in ancient clothing?" Maria asked the echidna, earning in a sweatdrop.

"My father likes me dressing like this."

"Your father?"

"Yep. He's the leader of the Knuckles Clan. Y'know Knuckles in the 3rd year? He's named after them. They're dead famous."

"That means…you're a chieftain's daughter."

"Yup!" She grinned. The bell suddenly rang. "Time for lessons…let's see…it's Monday…we have…English Literature with Miss Julayla Chipmunk."

"Well, let's make a good first impression! Let's go!" Maria called, leaping up in excitement.

XO

History? First? He hated his life.

"Hey, Sonic!" Espio called. He was already sitting in his chair, waving to him.

"Oh, hey Esp."

"At least your voice is just about normal. I can't even see the bruising."

"Question, what happened to your cheek?" Espio chuckled as he felt the bruise on his left cheek.

"Lightning kind of beat me up yesterday."

"Lightning…?"

"Bastard of a lynx in the senior year. For some reason, he hates my guts."

"Alright class!" Called a Overlander called Professor Pickle. He had a crooked back and was very lenient. He noticed Sonic straight off. "Ah, a new student! What is your name, boy?"

"Uh…Sonic."

"Nice to meet you, Sonic. I hope you're ready to study hard. Quinn, would you get Sonic a writing book and a textbook?"

"Sure, sir." Sonic nodded graciously at Quinn when he delivered both books.

"Right, today's new topic is on the Great War between the Mobians and the Overlanders. Today, we are perfect allies but it wasn't always that way. Once upon a time, over 40 years ago, we were bitter enemies. Who can tell me the year when Old Mobotropolis fell to the Overland?"

Only one hand went up.

"Oh, you know the answer, Sonic?"

"It was 3220, sir."

"Correct. I'm surprised you know."

"My father fought in that war. That's how I know." Most people turned to stare at him in amazement.

"I see! Who is your father, may I ask?"

"Commander Jules Richard Hedgehog." More gawks. Even Professor Pickle looked surprised.

"The famous strategist of the MegaCentral Front…you have an esteemed father, my boy. If anyone wants to know about that front, it seems our newest student is your first port of call. However, the battle we're looking at today is the battle of Soumerca's Golden Coast. It was the battle that lasted 3 years from 3221 to 3224. The forces involved were the Overland's Spider Unit and the Mobians' Golden Warriors of Soumerca who are now part of the Feliade of the Pais Misterioso (Mysterious Cat Country). They were headed by a young Princess Hathor (Queen Hathor in today's time) and her warriors. The Spider Unit were led by Sergeant Simone Walker and co-captained by a young Abraham Towers, who heads GUN today. I want you to read the passage on page 34 of your textbooks and answer the questions at the bottom. I'm giving you 15 minutes and please remember to co-operate with your buddy."

Sonic glanced at the questions and winced. They were long winded and very complicated.

"Welcome to NMA." Espio joked.

"Funny." He saw Espio was already on Question 3 and quickly but carefully copied the answer but re-worded it so the chameleon wouldn't catch on.

"So…your father really fought in the war?"

"Yeah, and came home alive."

"Mine fought in a war too as part of the Dragon Offensive in Yurasia about 15 years ago. Never came home. He was killed by a sniper." There was silence between the two. Sonic bit his lip.

"…E-Esp…I'm sorry."

"It's OK. I managed…though things got tough when Liza was born a few months later."

"Liza…is that your sister?"

"She started this year as a freshman. Pink chameleon. Can't miss her."

"I don't think I've seen her."

Sudden shouting came from across the room. Both partners face-palmed when they realized it was Ash and Quinn (it was mostly Ash doing the shouting however.)

"Ash…Quinn…what is going on here?" Pickle asked, a bit irked.

"Nothing. Ash is just giving me a lot of mouth."

"Am not! You won't talk to me!"

"I don't WANT to talk to you."

"Sir, can you please give him detention?"

"Give you detention, you mean. You're the one shouting and disturbing others in their learning!"

"Agreed. Ash, please stay after class."

"B-But…!"

"No buts." He went off to check on some other people. Ash glared hard at Quinn, who just stared at his workbook to avoid eye contact.

"This is all your fault, Quinn!"

"Oh, is it?"

"You and your popularity! You think you can manipulate teachers just with your sweet words! I so hate you."

Quinn was silent but growled under his breath. He wasn't about to retort and stoop to Ash's level.

XO

"OK, class, with your partners, I want you to practice "Fur Elise" on your keyboards." The music teacher, Isabella Mongoose, clapped as her band of 2nd years gathered around the instruments to start playing, even though only 10 minutes of the lesson was left. "I want one of you to play what you can and then switch. Whoever gets the furthest gets a Year Point." Everyone hated the Year Point system. It was basically giving out rewards in terms of points that the year collectively gathered. Whoever got the most at the end of the year got a fancy golden trophy that stayed locked in a case in Ivo's office. Sonia glared at Mindy as she began playing. Keyboards were her passion so she managed to get at least half way through before pressing the wrong key. Mindy, chuckling, began playing but instantly slipped up.

"I win."

"Can I have another chance? You bumped my elbow."

"I did not! How rude are you, blaming your inability to play on me and not yourself?"

"Oh, you little...!" Mindy grabbed Sonia by the hair and sharply pulled downwards, resulting in Sonia screaming in pain. Isabella, who was listening to Manic and Jet play, heard her painful yells and glanced over, catching Mindy in the act red-handed.

"Mindy LaTour!" She yelled, resulting in Mindy letting go of Sonia's hair, but a clump was left in her hand. Sonia, being the pampered girl she was, screamed again when she saw the hot pink hairs in her bully's grasp. "You will sit outside for the remainder of the lesson. Go. Now." Mindy, not testing her luck, let the wisps of fur float to the floor and then sashayed out of the classroom, sticking her tongue out at Sonia, but got caught once again. "Go!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" She exited the classroom. Isabelle sat besides Sonia and parted her fringe to inspect the damage. She couldn't see any visible fur missing.

"I don't think you're missing much fur, Sonia. You OK?"

"Y-Yeah...I'm OK...it just hurt...like hell..." It was clear she was still in a bit of shock. Isabella patted her shoulder.

"How about you show me how you're doing?" Sonia nodded at this and began playing, this time getting further than before. At the keyboard in front of her was Echo and Coral, who were amazed at how well she was playing. When she stopped, they both clapped.

"That was cool, Sonia!" Coral cheered, a huge smile on her face. Echo nodded too.

"Coral's right. You really have a talent."

"T-Thanks you two...I used to have lessons so playing is second nature."

"Looks like I'll have to set you harder songs..." Isabella mused, coyly smiling before standing up and inspecting Razor and a bee called Mello. Sonia saw Mindy looking at her through the classroom door glass, giving her a dark glare. She groaned and flopped her head onto the keys, earning in a deep sound erupting from the board, which, interestingly, fitted her mood.

XO

"Hey, you." Nicole looked up to see Sally looming over her. The bell had gone for recess, as they had had two lessons. After music, Nicole had had PE and had scraped her knee in hockey (one of her worst sports – she preferred running). Sally sighed when she saw the plaster over her leg. "You OK?"

"Typical Shade, wracking me in the shin..."

"Luckily, she only cut you a bit. Could have easily broken your leg."

"AIs can't break bones, remember? Corrupting code, however, is a different matter."

"What happened to her?" Sally saw a robotic hedgehog coming over, obviously having noticed the wound.

"Hockey accident. Shade kind of hit her with her stick."

"Shade...? Oh, the echidna in the 2nd year. Oh, I know she has a thing for bullying us robots and AIs. I'm Shard, by the way. Cool to meetcha, Princess Sally."

"Shush!" Sally growled. "No-one but my gang know I'm royalty. How do you know?"

"Elias."

"Oh..."

"We're buds so I know. What's your name, girl?" He looked at the AI.

"U-Um...Nicole."

"Nicole...? You're not registering as a Mobian."

"I'm an AI, but I hologram myself as a Mobian though you can touch and interact with me as if I was flesh and blood. I can bleed and feel emotions and even age."

"Wow...that is advanced. Way more than my programmed ego-topped AI I was given."

"Are you cybernised or...?"

"Cybernised, yeah. If not, heck, I wouldn't be here."

"Shard! Come on, mate!" Came a yell from Larry, a lynx in the 2nd year, who Shard had made friends off in the previous year.

"Comin'!" Shard yelled back. He nodded a goodbye to the two girls and ran over to his own friends. Nicole shook her head, wondering how someone like him could be so happy.

XO

In the library, Relic was doing a little bit of research. She had finally hacked the portal so no page was blocked by the school.

"Whattya doin'?" She almost screamed but it was just Sequin, who was grinning friendlily. "Managed to get through yet?"

"Almost. I swear, if my hunch is true…" She typed in "Pink Moon" in Yahoo and got millions of images. She eventually found Merlina's profile on a page of famous magicians, sorceresses and wizards. It detailed everything. Something caught her eye.

 _Creator of the Genie Project._

"What's the Genie Project?" Sequin asked. Relic shrugged.

"How am I meant to know? All I wanted to know if she's well known. Obviously she is. She's the featured magician of the week, for crying out loud. Let's see here…" She went back two pages and typed in "The Genie Project" into the search engine. However, the page was classified by GUN. After some quick hacking, she got in. She just hoped GUN didn't notice.

 _The Genie Project_

 _Organic creature with genie powers. Currently location unknown. Created 3 years ago. Created by famous magician and dark magic user Merlina the Hedgehog. Investigation of creature's whereabouts is underway._

"…Do they mean…Shahra…?"

"She and Merlina have a long history…I suppose it's possible."

"Excuse me…" They turned and, as if it was by no coincidence, it was Shahra, who was a pink Arabian monkey Mobian who wore a golden tunic, arm bands and sandals. Her tail almost made a spiral. "Are you two nearly done with the computer? I have an essay to do."

"Oh, OK, hang on Shahra…wait, we want to ask you something."

"Make it quick, please."

"How long have you known Merlina?" Relic said it bluntly. She didn't seem to be suspicious.

"Merlina? The magician? Um…about 3 years."

 _Gotcha._

"A-ha! You're The Genie Project, aren't you?" Sequin blurted, making Relic groan and she banged her head on the computer desk.

Silence. Shahra's pink eyes went tiny in shock. No words came out of her mouth as a lump formed at the back of her throat.

"Y-You know…!?"

"Just by chance. We were looking up Merlina's magic profile on the Magic Database and it came up. Managed to hack GUN to get info."

"Just drop it, OK? Just…l-let me do my essay…"

XO

"Hey, loser."

Hearing Mephiles' voice made Sonic freeze in his tracks. The snake-eyed hedgehog was leaning against his locker, which happened to be close to Sonic's. Just his luck.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing really. Just checking I didn't kill you."

"Well, you didn't. Just watch what you're doing next time. I'm sorry I attacked you on the bus, but maybe you shouldn't bully my stepbrother."

"Oh, is that what it was?" He was being sarcastic. "Oh, my apologies."

"You're not that sorry, are you? People like you never are." He went to get something out of his locker, only for a certain _someone_ to kick him to the ground. His bag skidded a bit away from him. Mephiles grabbed it, opened it and emptied its contents over the open window. Instead of hitting solid ground, they fell into the fountain. He threw the empty rucksack at Sonic's head.

"That was for talking back." He grabbed Sonic by the quill, which hurt immensely. "Listen, you. Just because we're in the same year doesn't mean we have to get along. I want nothing to do with you, and neither does anyone else!" He thrust his prey onto the ground, only to hear a yell from further up the hall.

"Leave him alone!" Mephiles felt something yellow plough into him, leaving him severely winded. Growling, he took off before his unknown assailant got another hit in. Sonic felt something tug at his arm. "Hey, you OK?" He looked up. Looking at him in worry was a golden fox with twin tails and bright blue eyes.

"Y-Yeah…I'm OK…"

"You sure? What was that guy thinking? Picking on someone like you?"

"He's an idiot for sure." He managed to stagger to his feet, wincing at the pain radiating from his quill, which was spreading throughout his head. "I'm Sonic by the way."

"Name's Tails. Just joined this year. Judging from your band, you're a third-year, right?" Tails was talking about Sonic's red band that was on his left arm. Each year had a coloured band to signify what year they were in. Freshmen had a murky gold. Sophomores had green. Pre-juniors had red. Juniors had blue and finally Seniors had black with silver lacing to show their superior status.

"Well…age-wise. I'm actually new this year as well, just transferred in."

"Oh…I see…guess we're both newbies, huh?" They both laughed.

"What are you two laughing about?" The two turned to see Jet standing there, a green band on his right arm. "Want to share the joke?"

"Oh, we were just having a silly moment." Tails explained. Jet noticed Sonic's empty bag.

"Why is there nothing in your bag? Class starts in 5 minutes."

"Oh crap, I forgot!" He peeked out of the window. "Thing is, everything's soaked." Both Tails and Jet looked.

"This has Mephiles' name all over it. The fucking bastard. If he's picked you as his victim, God help you. No-one stands up to him."

"I tried…but look where it got me."

"I'll go get a teacher. Hopefully, they'll lend you some stuff while everything else dries." Tails ran off. Sonic's expression only crumpled. Jet instantly noticed his bad mood.

"Hey, Mephiles may look tough but you know how to get him off your back?" He got a shake of the head. "All you have to do is mention Eclipse and him not being brothers. That usually leaves him in a bit of a state and he should leave you alone. Works for me."

"You're Sonic, right?" Sonic looked to see a female teacher coming towards them with Tails behind her, smiling in a friendly way. She was a female rabbit with tousled brown hair and bright chocolate-coloured eyes. In a way, she was very pretty, and prettiness made Sonic nervous.

"U-Uh…yeah."

"Tails has informed me on what has happened. Shall we go down and fish your stuff out?"

"OK…but what about class?"

"Worry not about class. I'll deliver an email to your teacher. Who do you have?" Sonic luckily had his timetable in his pocket.

"I have…Mr Luger for Citizenship."

"Ah, I see." She looked to Tails and Jet just as the bell went. "You too better hurry off to your next lessons."

"Yes, Miss." Tails nodded. "Social Studies…don't even know what that is!"

"You think you're screwed? I have French with Madame D'Coolette. I suck at foreign languages. I'm not linguistically talented." They went off, still babbling about lessons.

"Come on then, dear." The rabbit nodded, starting to head downstairs. Sonic followed. "I must introduce myself. I'm the cooking teacher, Miss Vanilla Rabbit. You might know my daughter Cream?"

"I've never talked to her, but I've seen her and some other girls. Her learning partner is my brother's best friend's sister…man, that's complicated."

"Here we are." They reached the fountain. Vanilla slipped off her shoes and stepped into the water, which only came to the middle of her shins. It wasn't very deep. Sonic was a bit hesitant but took a deep breath, kicked off his sneakers and started helping, struggling not to scream. "Something wrong?"

"Just…don't like water…I'm a bit aquaphobic." She was the first person he had revealed this too and was expecting her to laugh. She didn't.

"Are you really? There's no need to worry. This water is very shallow." It was true. On Sonic, the water level came to just above his knees, bit like in a paddling pool.

"I'm worrying for no reason, aren't I?" This time, Vanilla laughed.

"Maybe a little." They retrieved every book, his pencil case and his phone (which still worked since it was semi-waterproof, which he thanked the Gods for) and Sonic checked everything off in his head.

"Yup, that's everything."

"I'll lend you some blank books which you can transferred to the others once they are dry. Just come to my classroom at the end of the day to pick them up, OK?"

"OK, thanks."

XO

Nicole couldn't concentrate, not with Shade as her learning partner. The echidna was always tapping her foot into hers or accidentally nudging her so her writing smudged, deliberately trying to make the lynx blow a fuse.

 _Nice try, Shade, but us AIs are pretty resilient to this sort of thing._

It didn't matter anyway. She didn't know why she went to foreign language classes. She knew French, German, Spanish and Japanese, four languages all students had to learn, fluently and could easily translate any passage given to her. Shade wasn't as skilled and, if anything, hated the AI for effectively "cheating". It was no wonder she got top on every test. It seemed only her and Mindy, who was serving detention later that day, hated her for it, even though Shade knew Mindy still had a score to settle with Sonia.

"Listen, nanite." Shade darkly muttered, instantly getting a glance from Nicole. If there was any nickname she hated, it was that. "Don't think just because you come top in everything, it'll make you popular. Keep up the act and you'll go the same way as your sister."

Her sister…Nikki…

That alone made Nicole melt into a panic attack, so much so that Madame D'Coolette had to escort her out of the room to calm down, only to find her inconsolable. She had to take her to the psychiatrist because she knew Zouge, who worked alone in that small office, would be able to help her. Zouge was almost like Rouge, except she had eyes a darker shade of teal, wore pink eye shadow and wore a pink jacket with purple leggings and white shoes. She definitely looked kinder than Rouge, who happened to be her younger sister.

"Uh-oh…sit her down there, Marie." She called Madame D'Coolette by her first name. All teachers did. She knelt by the panicked lynx and gently shushed her until she fell silent, though her green pixelated eyes were still wild with terror. Zouge nodded to Marie, signalling she could leave and go back to her now-out-of-control French class. Zouge sat next to Nicole and waited until she seemed ready to talk. "Hey, now. Talk to me, Nicole. You can tell me what's wrong." She got a vigorous shake of the head. "I understand you don't want to tell me and I get that, but bottling it all up isn't going to help in the long run. It's best to tell someone how you're feeling." This seemed to convince her, though what Zouge heard next reminded her on how young Nicole really was.

"I-I want my big sister back…"

Zouge blinked but sadly gestured for a hug. She got one. "I know you do. I know." She let Nicole cry a bit before letting go and mopping her up with her thumb like a mother would to her child. "I know how much you miss Nikki, seriously, I know."

"Am I going the same way as her? Because I'm a freak? Because I'm smart?"

"Nicole, listen to me. You're not a freak at all. Just because you're an AI doesn't make you less Mobian than the rest of us. To me, you're perfectly normal. Being smart isn't a bad thing either. If someone hates you because you're seemingly more clever than them, they're jealous. Everyone is capable of genius if they apply themselves. How about I call Sally down here? Will you feel a bit better if she's with you?" Nicole thought about this for a second and nodded, still in a bit of a state.

If anyone could help her, Sally, her best friend from childhood, could.

XO

 _This. So. Sucks._

Not only had Mephiles been in Stage 1 Isolation all day, but now that classes were over, a 2-hour long detention had started. Sonic and Manic had come in together with Amy coming in now after. Much to some surprise, Mindy, Shade and Ash came in. After a few minutes, they saw who their invigilator was and no-one liked it.

Mr. Nazo. He was the school's Japanese teacher and one of the strictest teachers in the school. He was a pure cyan-furred hedgehog with icy blue eyes and wore a red t-shirt, black jeans and blue and red trainers. For a teacher, he dressed informally, though he was only 20 years of age, having only graduating from NMA the previous summer. He was offered a job based on his genius level.

"7 of you…" He mused, sitting and looking at all of them disapprovingly. He especially glared at Mephiles. "…I am not surprised to see you, Mr. Dark." He then saw Sonic, someone he had never seen before. "Oh, I don't think we've been introduced, Blue Hedgehog."

"O-Oh…my name's Sonic, sir."

"Sonic…? First days here and you get a detention…that's not a good start is it?"

"No, sir."

"Now, all of you, be silent. I want no talking, no laughing and no passing notes." Everyone nodded. Sonic decided to revise to pass the time, going over the history notes he had made and copied into his new book, as his books were just about dry, but the ink had run and the pages looked like white seaweed. Amy began reading some Jacqueline Wilson book titled "Queenie". Mephiles and Manic almost fell asleep. Mindy was also reading, but was reading a Cathy Cassidy book, "Scarlett". Shade just sat there, counting the minutes in her head. After an hour and a half, Nazo seemed to have enough. "Alright, you idiots. All but Mephiles can leave. QUIET now." He jerked his head in an irritated fashion as all but Mephiles left the room, making him slightly unnerved. Nazo leaned towards him and cruelly smiled. "Now, how about you and me talk… _Mephiles the Dark._ "

XO

As Sonic lay on his bed, his forehead banging with a headache from earlier's Metalwork class, which involved 32 banging hammers (and hadn't gone away during his detention, which must have been the longest 2 hours in his entire life), the door opened and he saw Quinn slide in.

"You OK? You're missing dinner. It looks good too. Macaroni Cheese."

"Yeah, I know. Just not hungry." He hoped Quinn would buy it. He didn't.

"Manic said you usually had a good appetite. You're not feeling ill, are you?"

"No, not really." His voice had gone quiet. Quinn, out of pure experience of last year, took this as a sign that he was not only lying to his face, but was keeping something from him.

"Is…something wrong, Sonic?" He sat on the edge of his bed but Sonic had rolled onto his side to avoid looking at him. "Hey, come on." He patted the hedgehog's shoulder friendlily but he wiggled him off. Now he knew something was _definitely_ wrong. "What's wrong? Why can't you tell me?"

"Stop pretending to be my friend." Came a snarl. "Just stop it."

"W-What?"

"Don't pretend you don't know." He continued, hiding his face which was beginning to go red. "You're like the rest of them. Buddy-buddy to my face and then planning how to get rid of me."

"Where on Mobius did you get _that_ idea from?" He didn't get an answer. He remembered accidentally overhearing a conversation between Manic and Sonia on how many schools Sonic had been too and had transferred in and out for years. Now it made sense. "Wait...I get it. You can't trust me, can you?"

"Oh, so you suddenly know everything about me, do you?"

"Were you really bullied that bad?" Sonic side-looked at him.

"H-How do you know?"

"I heard Manic and Sonia talking about it, merely by chance since I was walking to class and heard your name. I was worried."

"Worried?" He scoffed. "Bet you can't wait to get your opportunity to punch my face in."

"Sonic, please listen to me." Now he had gotten serious. He didn't like the way Sonic was talking, it was beginning to freak him out. "The last thing I would ever do is hurt you, or hurt anyone for that matter. Manic was right about one thing, I am a pacifist. Violence is never the answer to anything!"

"Why should I believe you!?" He was lashing out now, angered. Reluctantly, Quinn grabbed him by the wrists to try and restrain him but then froze. His eyes had seen something he didn't want to see.

"Oh Chaos..."

"What?" Sonic looked down and realized what the hedgehog was looking at.

Running across Sonic's wrist were two long scars and judging on how visible they were, they were pretty recent.

"Are those...?"

Sonic was silent for a moment. "Yes..."

"Y-You didn't try to...you-know...k-kill yourself...did you?"

"Dad caught me in the middle of doing it. I didn't get the chance to make the wound fatal, but I did lose a lot of blood. Luckily, Dad managed to patch me up himself, as he knows how much I hate hospitals." He was beginning to cry. "No-one wants me around, Quinn. No-one! Every school I try seems nice at first. People ask me if I want to hang around with them and all is well for the first week or so but then things switch. As they learn more about me, they start hating me, hurting me, bullying me. Sometimes I can bare it, sometimes I can't. I'm a blue hedgehog freak who can run at fucking supersonic speed who shouldn't exist!" He burrowed his face in his pillow. Even though Quinn had flinched at the f word, he knew it wasn't directed at him, it was at himself. "This school will be the same...just you watch..."

"It won't be." Sonic didn't even respond to this. For Quinn, he was thankful he didn't look, seeing as he felt like crying as well but tried not to for Sonic's sake. "NMA has its ups and downs, granted, but there is a lot of support for people like you and there are many people who will want to be your friend. Me included."

"You...want to be friends...with a disgusting rodent like me?"

"Sonic, don't call yourself that. That's not who you are. You're cheeky, kind, hard-working and, if I may say so, a good friend to me."

"I...I am?"

"I don't lie, Sonic." He stroked his friend's shoulder, with Sonic actually letting him. "I want to help you any way I can...that is, if you'll let me..."

"I've got nothing to lose...so I guess it's OK..." He wiped his tears away and, on a whim, wrapped his arms around Quinn, still sniffing. Both hedgehogs wore smiles. Quinn hugged Sonic back.

"That's what friends are for, right?"

XO

 **Well...nothing on the pairings front...shame.**

 **XO**

 **Next time...**

 **Mephiles continues his mean streak on Sonic**

 **Mindy and Shade team up to collectively hurt Sonia and Nicole**

 **Relic dives deeper into Shahra's history with Merlina**

 **Scourge discovers an alarming truth to Fiona's flirts on Ebony Hare**


	5. A Tuesday of Complications

**This chapter contains the following: violence/assault, blood, possible character death (yes, already), homosexual content, swearing and bullying**

 **Enjoy!**

 **XO**

 _ **Chapter 5: A Tuesday of Complications**_

Tuesday really did look like a drag.

Music (which was Sonia's talent, not his), then PE (which was probably the best lesson of the day as long as it involved running), French (he hated foreign languages), Japanese (with Nazo as his teacher, just his luck) and Self-Defence (who made that a lesson?). He put together his PE kit, which he had to lug around all day and deeply sighed.

"Let me guess...you don't like the look of today." Quinn guessed. He and Sonic were the only ones in the dorm; Ash and Guntiver had already gone down for breakfast. Considering what Sonic had told him the previous night, the hedgehog was keeping a close eye on his friend, in case he did anything crazy (he doubted anything like that would happen but you never know). He noticed Sonic's silence. "Hey, all your classes are with me. Nothing bad is gonna happen, you watch." He then picked up Sonic's PE kit. "I'll carry this for you. You've got a heavy rucksack as it is."

"Gee, thanks." Came a quiet but dark reply. He then went out the room, leaving Quinn to quickly catch up. He saw Sonic had stopped. "Can I...tell you something?"

"Go on."

"Promise me you will not tell ANYONE."

"Solemnly." He looked serious. To Sonic, that was a welcoming sign. He didn't know why he was going to tell Quinn this.

"Remember on the first day when Mephiles taunted me about not having a mum?"

"Yeah...I remember. I think all the boys do."

"Well...I do have a mum…it's not like she's dead or anything...but I haven't seen her in years. When I was about 5 or 6, my mum and dad divorced after dad found out mum was having an affair. Ashura wanted to stay with mum, but I wanted to stay with dad. Mum didn't actually care; she just filed the divorce and walked out of my life. It was just me and dad for a while until he met Aleena. It was the whole "love at first sight" thing. She was also recently divorced so they knew each other's situation. Thing was, Aleena had twins: Sonia and Manic. Regardless, dad and Aleena married and...well...normal life continued. I had to go to a new school and everything."

"Ashura said that dark form of yours was a consequence of an accident...or something...?"

"Oh, that. I can't really remember but Ashura has told me numerous times. Apparently, I did technically "die" in a fire accident. Me and Ashura were stupidly playing with a candle which knocked over...caused a massive house fire due to the flammable materials we had in most of the rooms. I can't remember if I died because of the fire itself or the smoke...I can't remember but Mum was so distressed that she went to Locke, the guardian of the Master Emerald and, after a talk with the goddess inside the emerald, it brought me back to life. After mum told me what happened, I blamed Ashura. That rage created my "dark form" and Locke gave Ashura an Energy Star to change me back to normal...though that time on Sunday was the first time I've transformed for just over 10 years."

"That's...pretty heavy."

"I guess I just wanted to get that off my chest. Sorry."

"There's no need to apologise, I keep telling you. You should tell people about this kind of stuff instead of bottling it up. Doing that is the type of thing that leads to a miserable life. The past is just that...the past. History."

"You know Quinn...I was wrong about you. You're genuine, aren't you? You really do want to be friends with me, don't you?"

"Sure do. We're year and dorm mates. I don't want to see anyone upset or sad. Anything you tell me _stays_ between you and me. I always keep secrets secret."

A large grin crossed Sonic's face. "I appreciate that. Thanks."

"Come on, you. We need to go have some breakfast. I'm starving."

"Hah, could go with something myself."

XO

Wave couldn't concentrate in her maths class. Her eyes kept glancing over at a peach-coloured hedgehog called Elise. She wore a white dress with feathers in her hairband and on her sandals. Her eyes were the colour of the summer sky. She was fearful someone would find out about her...ahem...true nature.

Truth was...she; Wave the Swallow, proud member of the Babylon Rogues EX Gear Team...was gay. Everyone guessed she was technically "dating" Storm, who was also in her class. It also didn't help that the two girls were in the same classes AND in the same dorm, so was little she could do to avoid her. Her buddy, Sealia Seal, looked at her curiously.

"You OK, Wave?" She asked. Like Antoine, she had a French accent (meaning she excelled in French class). Wave silently nodded as she continued on her equations. Sealia playfully shook her head. "Wrong. Ze answer is 13, not 26. You forgot to divide by 2."

"O-Oh...oops...thanks, Sealia."

"Hmph, no problem. Can't have you failing your exams now, can we?" She tittered, smiling playfully. Wave nudged her back.

"Funny."

"Aren't I always?"

At the other side of the class, Elise, with her buddy Thunderbolt, who had to sit on cushions because of her height (she was officially the second smallest student, just after freshman Chip, who technically was a spirit but height still mattered), had definitely noticed Wave staring at her.

"Why does she keep staring at me like that? It's creepy."

"Dunno." Thunderbolt absent-mindedly mused, finishing an equation from the textbook. "Maybe she has a thing for you...but she has a boyfriend so who knows?"

"I'll ask her after class." She nodded at this and went on solving problems until the bell rang. She collected her stuff and went right up to Wave. "Excuse me, Wave."

"U-Uh...yeah?"

"Can I...ask you something?"

"Sure, go on. Be quick though, I'm meeting Storm just before we go to our next lesson."

"Why did you keep staring at me?"

That flustered Wave up. She had to think of a non-suspicious answer on the fly.

"I...I-I was...admiring your outfit! I'm actually quite jealous of it. Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, was that it?" She seemed to buy it. "It's from Honey's Royale line. She made a line of clothes that were meant to look like royalty. Maybe you could go buy some at the weekend when we're all off class. I could come with you, if you like. I could point out the hottest buys. No offense...but your trousers do seem a bit too...I don't know... _bling._ You need something a little more casual. Oh, look at me...going on and on. Gotta go. See you." She went out and Wave let out a harsh breath of relief.

"Great, wanted to get away from her and I end up arranging a shopping date." She trooped out the classroom, anime-like sweatdrops all over her face. "I so hate being homosexual sometimes..."

XO

"You really should join the Athletic Club."

Sonic just stared at Shadow. They had bumped into one another as the black hedgehog had come out of his overly-boring History class (he had the lessons Sonic had the previous day) and it so happened that the geography classroom and the male changing rooms for PE were quite close to one another, so they were walking together (even if Sonic couldn't stand the emo).

"The school has clubs?"

"A lot of them...usually after classes and before dinner. It's on tonight. Me and Manic do it. Might even take your mind off Mephiles. I heard about what he did yesterday. Hope nothing got ruined."

"No, the closest to broken I got was a soggy phone and damp schoolbooks. Everything dried though and luckily, my phone's kind-of waterproof."

"Who was that fox who saved you though?"

"Oh, Tails? He's in the same year as Maria."

"I get it. Freshman, then."

"Come on, Sonic!" Sonic blinked when he saw a red-haired chipmunk waving to him, carrying her own PE kit in a blue and red bag labelled with an oak tree. He nodded Shadow goodbye and went up to her. "Oh, sorry, you don't know me. I'm Sally. Sally Acorn. You must have seen me in class."

"Oh yes, I remember. You're the one that they said had to go down to Zouge's office...whatever for?"

"Nicole had a bit of a meltdown. Stupid bitch Shade again."

"Nicole...oh, yeah, that lynx girl. The AI?"

"Yup. Nikki's younger sister."

"Nikki...o-oh, her." He shuddered. Sally understood why.

"Nicole's not settled in at NMA too well and I have a prediction she won't this year either."

"Morning, loser." Sally reacted before Sonic did and punched Mephiles in the nose, making him reel back.

"That was for nearly killing someone AND damaging personal property. Come on, blue." She literally dragged Sonic away, making Mephiles snigger. His laugh ripped through the blue hedgehog until he wrestled Sally off him and ran off, leaving the chipmunk blinking in surprise. "Uh…OK…"

"What was that all about?" The new voice was Quinn's. He glanced at the still-chuckling Mephiles. "What have you done this time?"

"Oh, me? Nothing. Just funny to see little princess over there drag Blue off like that. Guess he hates my laugh. Rude."

"Laughing at him…what do you get out of it, Mephiles? Seriously. Pick on someone else, will you?" He warned, going after his friend. There seemed to be no sign of him.

 _Maybe he already went to the changing rooms…_

He poked his head inside the changing rooms. Something caught his eye. Speedy had some plastic toy guns with him. Not just any guns. _Water_ guns.

"Speedy…what are you up to?"

"I'm playing a prank on Sam. Want to join in?" Sam Speed just so happened to be one of those teachers who didn't take practical jokes lightly. As much as he wanted to stop him, Sonic was his main priority.

"No thank you. You haven't seen Sonic, have you?"

"Uh…not since he went off with Shadz from the next year up. He hasn't come in here."

"Great…" He dumped his PE kit on one of the benches and went off. "OK…if I were upset…where would I go…?" He tried to think of someone no-one went during class. He knew he wouldn't go back to the dorms. He then passed the boys' bathroom and something clicked. As soon as he silently entered, he heard the sound of crying. That was both a good and bad thing. "Sonic, you in here? It's Quinn." The sounds instantly stopped. He noticed one of the cubicles was locked. It seemed it was only the two of them in there. He gently knocked on the door. "Are you OK?" The door unlocked and slightly opened. Sonic was hiding behind it, obviously wanting to hide his damp face. "Hey, come on. It's alright."

"Is everything all right?" Quinn turned to see a fourth-year come into the room. He was a navy wolf with a reddish-tinted nose. Quinn didn't know who he was.

"Oh…yeah, everything's fine…um…"

"Falke. Falke Wolf. Sorry, and you are…?"

"Oh, Quinn. In there is Sonic."

"Sonic…? Ashura's brother?"

"Yup."

"Oh, right…shouldn't you two be in class? I'm only in here because I have a pass." He waved a blue slip into the air to signify it before going into one of the cubicles. Quinn glanced at Sonic again.

"Ignore him. How about we mop you up and get over to class? Apparently Speedy is going to get a team together and soak the teacher. Don't ask me how he managed to smuggle so many water guns into class."

"…"

Quinn reached inside his pocket and pulled out a small packet of tissues. "Here." He reached out to give them to Sonic, who, after a few seconds' hesitation, came out fully to take them. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and his face was tinted red. He sniffed.

"S-Sorry…"

"Again, you don't need to apologise." What he didn't expect was for Sonic to hug him again, only this time tighter. "H-hey…it's OK. Come on, let's wipe the tears away."

"Is he going to be OK?" It was Falke, who had just come out and was washing his hands.

"Yeah, he'll be OK. Just a turn."

"I better go. Mr Rabbot will be wondering where I am. See ya!" He walked out. Quinn patted Sonic on the shoulder.

"We better go. Seeing Mr Speed get soaked should cheer you up." As they began walking to the changing rooms, Quinn had an idea which, even know he was going to suggest, knew it was going to sound completely wrong. "You know Zouge, right?"

"The psychiatrist? Yup."

"She's not just a psychiatrist. She used to work in Child Safety. If anyone can sort your situation out, it's her."

"I thought if you saw a psychiatrist, it means you're insane."

"It's a common myth. Nicole sees her sometimes. She's not insane, is she? Just troubled. Like you. I'm not forcing you, I'm just suggesting it. Could help."

"Maybe…I might go see her after classes are over…as long as you come with."

"Well, I wouldn't let you go alone now, would I? What sort of friend would I be if I didn't support you?"

"Heh, good point."

XO

The sound that disturbed all classes was the sound of Sam Speed screaming as he ran down the corridors trying to escape Speedy and his 21-man-strong squad. He darted around corners but the squad were fast, shooting ice cold paths of water at his feet, back and head. One of the girls hit his neck, making his scream become like one of the freshman girls. All classes were momentarily disturbed as they gazed out of the classroom doors and windows to get a glimpse of what was going on. Some laughed, some shook their heads but most were chanting on the support of the students. Quinn (who wasn't in his PE kit since he was "excused", but still wore his shorts and trainers) and Sonic hadn't moved from the field alongside the others who didn't partake in the fun (many were regretting it). Sonic was timing the situation on his phone.

"Going on for 8 minutes."

"They must have run out of water by now."

"The whole class is gonna have detention, aren't they?"

"We won't. We weren't involved."

"WHAT IS GOING ON OUT HERE!?" The voice was Ivo's as he purposefully marched towards the small group of students overseeing the spectacle. "CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN!?"

"It was Speedy's idea but the whole school seems to have enjoyed it." Sally explained, having not partaken because she was fearful of the consequences. She had never had a detention. She didn't want to have a first based on a prank. Ivo's anger didn't subside. He then snatched Sonic's phone.

"Hey!"

"Are you timing this?"

"I'm timing how much of our lesson we're missing, if you must know."

"Oh." He threw the phone back using a gentle underarm chuck, mainly because he didn't want to pay a couple hundred pounds for a new phone on account of personal property damage. A student doing it was bad enough. If he did it…imagine the atrocity. The screams then got louder as Sam got back onto the field, dripping wet. Most of the bystanders did laugh. Quinn and Sonic were the only students to keep a straight face. When the squad saw Ivo, all of them gulped and considered running, but they knew it would make things worse. "I shall contemplate a punishment. You are all dismissed. Mr. Speed, go get yourself dry, for crying out loud. You look like you've been swimming in the city's ponds." Everyone gleefully went to go get changed back into their casual wear while a red-faced Sam stomped off to the teacher rooms to get not only clean clothes from the spare clothes basket but a towel. Sonic stopped the timer, having forgotten.

"10 minutes, 46 seconds."

"Well, only bright side is that we miss 40 minutes of the lesson."

"Want to do something?"

"Could play something on my Xbox. I connected it up to the lounge's TV."

"You have an Xbox?"

"I like gaming."

"You're on!"

XO

"Who is worse? Nicole or Sonia?"

Mindy stared at Shade.

"Both of them are bitches. I personally hate Sonia more but I also can't stand that filthy nanite."

"Did you see that black boy in the year below?"

"Oh…Daniel? Danny? Can't remember his name."

"Danny. He's weird. Anyway, my deal is this: we double-team them. At the moment, you're Sonia's bully and I'm Nicole's…but what if we bully both of them…?"

"Hmmm…I'm listening."

"Listen, Nicole is gonna go the same way as Nikki, believe you me. She has no right to be in this school! She should have stayed at a school for nanites like the one on Angel Island. If I can't kill her indirectly, I'll do it with my bare hands."

"OK, bullying is one thing. Driving to suicide is another but murder!? That's a step too far. Nanites don't belong but killing one is a classic example of hate crime which, for the record, is ILLEGAL! Well…murder is as well but still!"

"Backing out, are we?"

"No! I still want Nicole out of our fur…just…not through bloodshed, 'kay?" There was tense silence until Shade grinned.

"Fine, no bloodshed. Still gonna get her out of school though. Which of these do you prefer? Making her think everyone wants her gone or make her life a hell?"

"The latter option would take the longest…that will be fun…"

Both sophomores chuckled evilly.

XO

"You're still getting info?" Relic looked up to see Sequin.

"Uh, yeah! Now that we know Shahra is the Genie Project, I'm trying to find out more but GUN's firewalls are incredibly strong. They're hard to hack into."

"Remind me how you learnt to hack?"

"My father works for a company who purposefully hacks into systems to test their safety. The bigger the holes, the more money he gets. He managed to crack the system into the world's defence force 2 years ago. They paid him little over 4 million pounds! He's a genius, my dad. I've been learning since I was able to understand the ins and outs of a PC…when I was about 6?"

"And yet, you can't hack into GUN?"

"I'm trying! Keep an eye out." Nodding, Sequin stood near the door to the library, checking to see if anyone wanted in. Eventually, Relic growled. "They're locking me out! The idiots!"

"Have you tried getting in through someone's ID? Apparently, Shadow has access because his father works for GUN in his spare time as a scientific advisor. He may keep passwords or something in his schoolbag…"

"Are you suggesting we sneak into the junior tower to get information into GUN's databases? That will get Shadow into trouble. He'll have our heads."

"He won't know it's us. We're not STEALING data from GUN for profit or anything, just learning about one of our fellow students. Stop being such a drama queen. We have approximately 10 minutes until the end of recess. If we can sneak into the tower, get the card, copy the information and put it back, we can fully hack into the computers during the lunch break."

"…Genius, but it's risky."

"Come on, Relic, live a little! It'll be fun! We'll be cat burglars! Y'know, like we used to play as when we were little! 9 minutes, COME ON!" She dragged Relic off the computer (logging off in case anyone came in and saw what they were doing) and headed straight to the Junior tower. They silently went up the stairs to the first level. No-one seemed around.

"OK…Shadow is in room 202 with Ken, Jack and Jolt." They came to room 202 and rattled the handle. "Locked."

"Luckily…I can pick locks." Sequin pulled out a hairclip and easily picked the lock. They peeked inside. Empty. "Come on, find the bag. 5 minutes."

"Got it!" Relic picked up a black and red bag. Inside one of the pockets was a card with a password on it.

 _GUN Access Password: teamdark23STH_

"Write it down, quick!"

"OK, OK!" Relic wrote the password on her palm and hurried out, forgetting to move the bag back to where it was. They heard voices coming up the stairs and ran down the emergency exit stairs, forgetting also to fully close 202's door. Unluckily, Shadow was part of the group coming up the stairs.

"That's…odd."

"What's odd?" Jolt asked.

"Didn't you lock this door?"

"Thought I did…must have forgotten."

"You idiot." He went in. When he saw his bag on his bed…his eyes narrowed. "OK…now I know."

"Know what?"

"Someone broke in…and they have been going through my bag…"

"How'd ya know?"

"Well…for one, I left my bag under my bed. It's been searched."

"Maybe it was Cubot."

"Cubot may be dumb but he would have locked the door and moved the bag to make it seem nothing has happened. This was done by students and, judging by their sloppiness, probably girls…and younger than us…"

"Hang on…dark blue fur…and cyan fur…fox fur as well…" Jolt was picking up strands of fur lying on the carpet, examining them between two fingers.

"Relic the Pika…and Sequin Fox…oh man, they are gonna get it…"

XO

"Come on, Fi…pick up…!" Scourge pleaded, attempting to ring Fiona for the eleventh time. It was lunch and they had agreed to meet at the fountain at 12 sharp. The call went through to voicemail. "Man, since Ebony tried to steal her…she's been awfully distant…"

"Having girl troubles, Scourgey?" He looked to see Mariposa.

"Oh, it's you."

"Regretting the notion that you gave that _puta_ another chance?"

"You can say many things to me, Mari, but you DON'T CALL MY GIRL A BITCH!"

"Scourge babe!" Fiona's voice came as she ran over.

"There you are, Fi! Where were you?"

"Ugh, you don't want to know. Some boys in my class wanted me to strip. Stupid idiots. Stole my phone and everything. I got it back but I saw 11 missed calls so I rushed over here."

"Liar, liar, straps on fire." Mariposa sneered, fluttering over and pulled on her bra straps so they whipped against her shoulder-blades.

"Ouch!"

"I know what you're up to, Fiona Fox."

"Huh?"

"Dating two boys at the same time, boy, you're a naughty girl."

"I…I…"

"Mari, will you shut up!? Fi would never do that to me!" He froze, noticing Fiona withering uncomfortably. "F…Fi…?"

"Looks like the cat's out the bag, you little red-furred slag."

"Mari, just leave! This isn't your problem. Go find someone else to annoy, like Quinn or something. Apparently, he's been playing Xbox with Sonic because PE finished early."

"Oh yes…the water fight. Man that was fun." Getting a growl from Scourge told Mariposa she better skedaddle. Winking in a flirty way, she flew upwards and disappeared over the school roof. Scourge menacingly walked towards Fiona.

"OK, Fi, I'm only gonna ask you once. Are you dating Ebony behind my back and please do not lie to my face."

Silence.

Fiona's eyes welled up with tears. "Y-Y-Yes…I was…I was having doubts about us…E-Ebony was there so…"

 _ **SLAP!**_

More silence.

Both Mobians stood in stunned shock. Fiona's right cheek was turning pink. Scourge's face was a sheet white, his hand stinging. He was the first to speak.

"I gave you a second chance…and you threw it back in my fucking face!"

"S-Scourge…"

"No, I don't want an explanation…or an excuse…or anything out of you. It's over. Ebony can have you for all I care. We're done being a duo." He walked away, leaving Fiona stunned. She was only using Ebony anyway while she decided what to do with her other relationship. He had no purpose now. She had nothing. No boyfriend, no real friends, no status…nothing. This year was going to be her worst school year…

XO

"RELIC!"

Relic, who had headphones on, didn't hear Shadow's angered yells. Sequin, on the other hand, did.

"Hey, Relic. We better get out of here. Log out. Now!"

"Hang on, it's still downloading!" She had been watching some YouTube video while the files on Shahra were downloading onto a pendrive. It was 78% done after just 10 minutes. Another 3 or so and they were good. She knew Shadow's yells could be heard anywhere around school, so the fact they were loud didn't mean he was just around the corner, so she wasn't too worried. Even if he did find them, the code was no longer on her hand, so there would be zero evidence they were responsible. "Hang on…did we move the bag back?"

"U-Uh…no…"

"Did we lock the door?"

"I closed it to. Didn't have time to lock it."

"We didn't shed fur did we?"

"Quite possibly." The two drummed their fingers on their upper legs anxiously. "We're dead, right?"

"RIP Relic the Pika and Sequin Fox, juniors who never saw graduation…died almost two years before they were able to be presented with their diplomas…straight As and everything…"

"If you're cracking jokes at a time like this…you're weirder than I thought!" The library door suddenly creaked open. Glancing, they breathed in relief when they saw a young black female cat come in. Bad thing was, she was coming towards THEM.

"O-Oh…sorry girls." She apologised. "Didn't realize you were in the middle of downloading some files." Thank god she didn't know the true purpose of the download. "I'll wait."

"Do us a favour…um…"

"Oh, I'm Sasha."

"Sequin. Do me a huge favour. Do you know who Shadow is?"

"Black hedgehog, Maria's emo brother? Yeah, I know who he is."

"Stand by the door window and keep an eye out for him…he's kind of after us. If you sweet-talk him and convince him we went back to the dorms, we'll buy you a huge bar of Toblerone."

"OK…but I'm allergic to nuts."

"Galaxy then. Whichever bar you like. We'll buy you one at the chocolate shop just outside of school on Saturday."

"Done!" She nodded, placed her schoolbooks on the computer desk and stood by the door. They saw her approach Shadow and they got a taste of the conversation.

"Are you OK, Shadow?"

"Am I OK!? I'm looking for two girls: a dark blue Pika and a cyan fox. Seen them?!"

"Thinking…o-oh, yeah I did. They went up to their dorm tower. Might be eating in their dorm or relax lounge."

"Thanks, kiddo. Man, those two are dead!" He rushed off. Sasha waited until he was out of view and slipped back into the room. By this point, the download was finished. Relic gently disconnected it and the two juniors high-fived.

"Thanks Sasha. We owe you that chocolate. On the house!"

"Too right! You were awesome!"

"E-Er…thanks! I'll meet up with you on Saturday morning?"

"About 10am?"

"Done!"

All three did a group hug.

"So…you stole my GUN credentials."

All three girls froze. Shadow was standing a little away from them, arms folded, eyes surprisingly calm but his lips were drawn back in a snarl. Sasha inched away from the girls.

"Care to explain why you stole valuable information which could essentially get both me and my dad in trouble. That password is his, not mine!"

"OK, we'll tell you. You know Merlina?" Relic asked. Sequin got a sign to be quiet.

"The magician? This better be good."

"She was not just an award-winning magician. She created a life-form nicknamed The Genie Project. Heard of it?"

"Can't say I have."

"After research, we found out that this project is actually Shahra in the third year. It makes sense because she's known Merlina 3 years, the same amount of time that has passed since the project's creation. GUN is still searching for it as they fear she's dangerous, which she isn't. We stole the password because I couldn't hack in, which I'm pretty skilled at."

"Oh please, NO-ONE can hack into GUN."

"Dad hacked into the government's defence system…without getting noticed at all."

"OK…that's impressive. Why didn't you just ask?"

"Eh?"

"I said, why didn't you just ask me for the card? If you had explained, I would have helped you out. It's hard to believe, but it's crazy enough to be true."

"Are you saying you would have actually told us the password?"

"No, I would have typed it in myself. Since you two know it, I have no choice but to kill you." Both girls' faces went white. Suddenly, the ebony hedgehog broke down in laughter. "God, your faces! I'm only joking around! Just…don't use it again, OK?"

"G-Gotcha…"

On that note, and with a warning look, Shadow left. Sasha gulped.

"Guess I'm not getting that chocolate, eh?"

"No, we're still on. You did buy us a little more time. Thanks for that. We'll definitely go chocolate shopping on Saturday, 'kay?"

"OK!"

"Can I talk now?" Sequin whispered. For some reason, she didn't talk even though the danger had passed.

"You really need to stop taking everything I say so seriously. Yes, you can talk now! Jeez!"

XO

"Are you still daydreaming, Maria?"

Maria looked to see her study buddy Cream who was waiting for her response. She had forgotten they were in the middle of their fourth lesson, Religious Studies, with their teacher Mr. Sloth (first name being Moss) who was teaching them how to meditate.

"We're meant to be quiet, Cream. It's meditating."

"Well, yes, but we're meant to think of the things sir is saying. Knowing you, you're thinking of stars again."

"I…I can't help it, Cream. I can't stop thinking about stars, or space, or planets, or night…or anything like that. I try, seriously I do, but I can't."

"Something tells me you're obsessed with the subject to a point where it's permanently stuck in your brain. Mom's like that with cooking. It's all she ever thinks about."

"Oh, ha-ha." The students sitting next to them, namely a grey manta called Pearly and Liza, gave them dark looks, namely to say "shut up". The two silently giggled before doing what they were supposed to be doing. Eventually, the bell went.

"Ah, that ends this lesson, class." Moss nodded, slowly standing from his position. "Remember your homework for next week: research different religious holidays."

"Ugh…yawn." Liza snarled as she stood up, grabbed her bag and stepped outside, only to trip Maria up as she and Cream left. "Jeez, aren't you a little jerk. Loser!" She sashayed away, grinning. Cream blew a raspberry at her and helped Maria to her feet.

"Great, if you didn't have a bully before, you do now."

"Shadow will sort her out, you watch."

XO

"I've never wielded a sword before." Sonic mused; assessing the fencing sword he had been given. Quinn was also assessing his in curiosity.

"I'd be worried if you had." Sonic detected something like irritability in his voice.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing." Quinn refuted pretty quickly, but light-heartedly. Sonic playfully rolled his eyes.

"Alright." He went to stand with Espio, his buddy, who smiled.

"OK, boys!" There were two Self-Defence teachers at the school. Amadeus, a fox with one eye, taught the boys while his colleague Armand taught the girls. Amadeus clapped his hands. "Oi, you two." He was addressing Mephiles and Dive, you were arguing about something. "Stop talking." The two shut up. "Right, I want you to fight your partner. I must warn you, these swords are perfectly real, so I want absolute caution at all times. Remember to only strike your opponent in the shoulderblades, where the sensors are. That way, we won't have any incidents. We'll start with your buddies. When I shout "Change!" you will switch partners with someone else. This will continue until you have fought everyone at least once. Am I understood?" Everyone nodded. "And…begin!"

Eying each other, Sonic and Espio both lunged, swords in hand, each other swiftly dodging (this was easier for Sonic because of his speed, which no-one didn't really know about, which was good). Eventually, a sensor on Sonic's left shoulder beeped Espio's blade made gentle contact.

"Change!"

Quinn and Sonic immediately paired up, with Quinn easily losing to Sonic's speed.

"That was good."

"Thanks. I'm picking this up quick."

"Change!"

This went on for a while. After about 6 minutes, there were two people Sonic hadn't sparred against. Scourge and Mephiles. He guessed Mephiles would be the worst one, so when the teacher shouted his command, he instantly went up to Scourge. Weirdly, he seemed lost in some other world.

"Is something up?"

"Nah, just my own personal problems. It's none of your concern, Sonic." They sparred for a while until Sonic once again lost. He noticed Scourge was unexpectedly fast on his feet.

 _Almost like me._

"Final Change!" Gulping, Sonic cautiously approached Mephiles, who only grinned when they began sparring.

"Man, you're good."

"Let's just say, I've wielded a sword before. You're not too shabby yourself, for a rookie."

"I'm a fast learner."

"Maybe I had you all wrong. You're not half as bad as some other people."

"Does that mean you'll leave me alone?"

"I'm not letting it go THAT easily, pipsqueak." That's when things got nasty. Mephiles was no longer aiming for the sensors, which meant Sonic had to think tactically. Amadeus must have sensed the fight was going downhill so he ordered everyone to stop what they were doing. Sonic obeyed but Mephiles didn't. Sensing an opportunity, he grinned evilly. "I know everything about you, Sonic. Your speed. Your abnormalities…" Sonic guessed he meant his dark form (though he had no idea how he knew). "…but, in short, you're a monster. And monsters only have one purpose…TO DIE!"

Pain. Every emotion crumbled under the unimaginable pain that spread through him. He felt himself fall, his head smacking against someone solid and sudden. Everything around Sonic melted into blobs and then into some darkness, his senses starting to fail him. He could still feel the floor under him but the area on his chest where his heart lay was beating furiously, agony coming at him in short but fast flashes both from his chest and his neck. He could hear screams, sirens, people yelling incoherently meaning he couldn't tell what anyone was trying to say. He did feel someone inspect him as he felt warm strokes across his quills, as he felt his body tingle with cold.

Everyone was shocked at what had happened. What they had seen was Mephiles lunge at Sonic, sword in hand, and making the weapon slice through him like butter, blood spurting from the wound. Mephiles only grinned and attacked again, slitting the boy's neck from behind before kicking him to the ground as an ominous puddle of blood began forming as he lay there motionless, chest barely rising and falling in rhythm. Quinn moved first, rushing to his friend's side, gently rolling him onto his side to assess the wound. Seeing the size of the stab wound made him cup his mouth in horror as he gently shook Sonic to get some response. His eyes barely opened in response and were glassy and blank. They seemed fixed in place, which was instantly set alarms ringing in Quinn's mind. Amadeus was calling the police and ambulance, and both services arrived within five minutes. The girls were being shielded by Armand. Most obeyed the coyote's orders but Sally pushed past to look, instantly regretting it. She eyed Mephiles and kicked him to the ground, leaving stars circling above his head as his eyes became anime-swirls. Quinn was tearfully muttering words of comfort into Sonic's ear, gently running his fingers through his quills to let him know he was there. The paramedics went white when they saw the state of Sonic.

"Get him onto the stretcher. Now!" One ordered, placing blocks around Sonic's head and neck before lifting him gently onto the stretcher and fastening a portable oxygen mask onto his muzzle, which slightly improved his shallow breaths. As they left the room, they past Hope who was rushing to see what was going on. She only blinked in shock as the paramedics and Quinn left the scene, allowing the police to arrest Mephiles and inspect the crime scene.

XO

"Excuse me, Mr Stewart, sir…can I borrow Sonia and Manic, please?"

"Sorry, sir, I need Ashura for a bit, is that OK?"

Hope had to go to the Art and Chemistry classrooms to get the three hedgehogs. When they saw each other, they knew something was up.

"Hope? What is going on?" Ashura rudely asked, aloof as always. Hope looked watery-eyed, a sign that something bad had happened.

"If you called us, are you going to call Sonic?"

"No…this concerns him. Follow me." She led them outside to her silver Mercedes. "You might want to get in." Exchanging nervous looks, the three did as they were told. As they approached the hospital, they instantly realized what had happened.

"I-Is it Sonic? I-I-Is he OK?" Sonia stuttered. As they parked up, Hope began running down the situation.

"Your brother had an accident during Self-Defence class."

All three knew how dangerous those fencing swords could be.

"Was he injured badly?" Ashura asked next, starting to shake. Memories of the fire that had "killed" Sonic many years ago began flaring up.

"It was Mephiles. Stabbed him in cold blood. I presume he's already been arrested."

"S-Stabbed…?" Manic choked.

They went along many corridors until they came to the ICU, or the Intensive Care Unit. Sitting outside on a chair, shaking, was Quinn.

"Q-Quinn…?" Sonia ran up to him. "You're here, too?"

"Of course I am. I…I can't just leave him!"

"Have you heard anything?"

"No, not yet. They can't because I'm not a relative."

"I hate that rule so much."

"Excuse me, kiddies." A new voice came. Standing behind Hope was a lilac-furred hedgehog with sharp blue eyes and a lop of blonde hair. Everyone recognised her as the school's English Language teacher.

"Miss? What are you doing here?" Manic asked. She sighed. Ashura's next words made all of them gawk.

"Hi, mum."

XO

 **Pairings:**

 **Scourge and Fiona – BROKE UP**

 **XO**

 **As usual, puta means bitch.**

 **XO**

 **Next time…**

 **The prank that went wrong goes wrong even more**

 **Relic and Sequin spy on Shahra for information**

 **What will happen with Maria now that Liza is targeting her?**

 **Sonic's condition is revealed!**

 **XO**

 **OK…apologises now for the last 2 scenes. I don't know why I've put Sonic in the hospital twice in 5 chapters. I promise the next time (spoiler: the next time will be his last, you'll see why) will not happen until the rear end of the story, so don't worry, I'm done picking on him.**


	6. Family Matters

**Hell, it's been AGES!**

 **Sorry about the lack in chapters people! Summer holiday, 3 weeks at my dad's without my computer, writer's block…so…yeah. Been gone 2 months but I'm back now!**

 **As always, I own Fang, Mariposa (partially), Gabrielle, Jason and Sequin. Quinn is owned by VGB.305. New characters are getting introduced like Rogue. I own him too. Quinn's parents, Susan and Ryan, are owned by VGB. Also, Infinite and Gadget (the red wolf OC) from Sonic Forces are included too. They go to Quinn's old school but they transfer in later on. Also, Infinite does NOT have his mask** ** _YET._** **He gets it later.**

 **Chapter contains the following: bullying, child neglect and the mental condition Synesthesia (which Infinite has)**

 **XO**

 ** _Chapter 6: Family Matters_**

"Mum!?"

The scream came from both Sonia and Manic, so much so that Ashura harshly winced at their voices.

"She's your mum?" Quinn asked much more gently and kindly, though for some reason irritability was in his tone. Ashura nodded. Quinn nodded too as he took this information in. "I see the faint resemblance."

"And it's Quinn, right?" The woman asked, as Quinn nodded. "I remember. You transferred in last May."

"Yes, that's right."

"I can't believe I didn't notice before…but what's with that blanket?" Sonia asked, as everyone had NOT notice the grey blanket around Quinn's shoulders. He was still faintly shaking as his limbs trembled. He suddenly went silent. Hope bit her lip a bit.

"It might be for shock."

"O-Oh…of course…" Sonia nodded, sitting next to her friend to gesture for a hug, which Quinn gave. She tucked the blanket around him more. The hospital doors opened and a nurse came in, a dark blue porcupine with bright amber eyes. She went over to Quinn and kneeled, smiling gently.

"You OK, honey?" She quietly asked, smiling. A faint nod came back, but the shaking spoke for itself. She looked at the newcomers. "Oh, and you are…?"

"I'm Manic, and this is my twin sister Sonia. We're looking for our stepbrother."

"I'm guessing he's the blue hedgehog, right?"

"Y-Yes! I-I-Is he OK!?"

"All I know is he's still having some tests done, but you should be able to see him soon." That was all she said. The doors came again. More people. Sonia and Manic recognised Aleena and Jules, as well as Charles. However, a new face appeared. He was quite tall, the tallest of the adults for sure, with dark green fur and green eyes. He had a work uniform for the city's key cutting store, Cutters Cabin. He looked out of breath.

"Rogue?" Ashura asked. After getting strange looks, he sweat-dropped. "Oh, Rogue's my stepdad."

"Uh-huh…" Both twins mumbled, leading Ashura to start yelling in anime style.

"You could show some more interest!"

"Leave them be, Ashy."

"Don't call me that, Rogue! I hate that nickname!"

"You love it really."

"UGH!"

After a bit more conversation on the subject of unwanted nicknames between Ashura and Rogue, everyone sat, silent, waiting for news, any news. The doors went again. Two hedgehogs wandered in. One was a female blue hedgehog and the other was a male white hedgehog with cyan streaks in his fur. They looked around, saw Quinn and quickly embraced him.

"Uh…care to introduce us?" Sonia said, struggling to avoid laughing. Quinn ushered the two off him.

"These are my parents, Susan and Ryan." He turned to them. "Why are you two here?"

"Looking for you silly." Susan muttered, hugging Quinn even more.

"Mum, seriously, stop. You're embarrassing me."

"He's right dear." Ryan agreed. Susan nodded and sat, twindling her thumbs. Ryan did the same on the other side of Quinn. "Ivo told us what happened to your friend. Said it's probably best if you have a few days off…to, you-know, recover."

"You mean…time off school?"

"Only for a few days, mind you." Susan nodded. Quinn crossed his arms.

"But I'm fine! I don't need time off!"

"Hope and some doctors also agreed on this method. Said it would be best to you to not be in a stressful environment, considering what happened."

"…" Quinn tapped his fingers on his lap, thinking. "Maybe…maybe I should have a few days off…" All of a sudden, the doctor, who had disappeared when Susan and Ryan entered the room, then came back in, gesturing towards the ICU. There was a rush. Jules was the first to move, followed by Sonia and Manic. After mentally deciding if he wanted to look or not, Quinn followed the three into the room, blanket still wrapped around him, followed by his parents. As he got nearer, his legs felt like jelly. He took a deep breath and continued forward, with the shakiness getting worse and worse. He stopped outside the window that looked into the ICU's room, his chest getting tight. Seeing his friend like he was, connected to several machines, eyes closed without the slightest flicker when his family gently held his hand or stroked his quills or even when they muttered words of encouragement to him to get better or to wake up, which he knew would take some time. There were tight bandages around Sonic's chest as well as a brace around his neck and head in case it was broken or the sword had hit a bone. He wasn't even breathing right, being connected instead to life support. He turned away, unable to look at Sonic for long, guilt and rage filling him all at once. Rage at Mephiles, obviously, but guilt for not doing enough. He knew deep down it wasn't his fault, but for some reason he felt it was _partly_ , having not said anything about the high tensions. He could have said something, prevented the fight in the first place. If that had happened, the two would be laughing in the dorm, playing video games or having fun like everyone else. Instead, his friend…his best friend…was lying senseless, close to death, all because he stood up for his brother. It just made zero sense.

"Quinn?" He glanced to his side. Susan and Ryan were looking concerned, their own eyes wet. "Are you OK?"

"Y-Yeah…I'm OK…"

They were silent for a moment before continuing. "I know this is really hard for you…" Susan muttered, wrapping an arm around Quinn's shoulders caringly.

"It's harder on them and the others though…they are family…"

"True, but friends feel the pain too. Especially those as close as you."

A small sad smile crossed Quinn's face. "I was just trying to be a good friend. Yet, this happened."

"You mustn't blame yourself. None of this is your fault." Ryan assured.

"I know that…I just don't know how Mephiles got the murderous desire from. Sure, he hated Sonic…but attempted murder indicates he's got a few more screws loose than I thought." His hands curled into shaky fists, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I could have done something…told someone there was a chance something bad would happen. Yet I stayed silent like a coward."

"You haven't done a thing wrong, sweetie." The two hugged him tight, shushing him and wiping away his tears. "Hopefully, this Sonic boy will be OK and I'm sure no-one will let this Mephiles character anywhere near him. Even if he dares use tactics to get close to him, everyone will do everything in their power to protect him, and I know you will too." He processed this slowly, taking in each and every word.

 _Anything I can do to protect him…but I'm a…_ He stopped, not thinking the word "pacifist". Sounded great in theory and on paper: it allowed him a life in the background, allowing people to get on with their lives and for him to get on with his. Yet, did it benefit anyone in the long run? What sort of friend sat on the sidelines while their friend got _stabbed!?_ He growled to himself, that type of quiet growl no-one but yourself heard. _To hell with pacifism. I'll protect him no matter what…even if it means making people see stars…_

XO

"Alright you stargazing bitch, hand it over. I wanna go with that little telescope thing of yours." Maria gazed up at Liza, who was at least a head taller than her. She held it close to her, faintly trembling but resolved to keep her cool against her designated bully.

"Sorry Liza, but father made it for me. I promised I wouldn't lend it to anyone."

"Aw, how quaint. Little Maria Darling making promises to her daddy-waddy. I said…HAND IT OVER!" She snatched the tube from the hedgehog, looked at it and held it like it was grubby. "Ugh, this is so cheap! Let's give it a strength test, shall we?" She threw it to the ground and stepped on it, instantly crushing it into bronze and gold wooden shards. It may have been cheap but it was handmade, so it was understandable that Maria burst into tears. Liza looked at her, slightly startled but laughed. It seemed to go on forever but she stopped, grabbing the girl by the quill and began beating her until she let go, bored before walking off as if nothing had happened. No-one was around, but Maria felt so dizzy, like she was about to faint. However, she managed to hoist herself to her feet and began moving toward the dorms, unsteady and very slow. She noticed a very familiar figure smoking outside the Junior tower.

Shadow.

She wanted to yell to him, but no voice came out. She felt invisible, seeing as she was surprised Shadow hadn't noticed her. Eventually, he did make eye-contact, instantly going white when he saw the state his sister was in.

"Oh god…" He rushed to her, wrapping his arms around her body protectively, gently shushing her as she began crying. "It's OK, I've got you." He then grabbed her shoulders. "Who did this to you?!"

"N-Nobody…"

"Maria, please. You can tell me."

"L-Liza…"

"Liza? Espio's sister? Oh boy, is she gonna get it…"

"D-Don't, big bro, please!" She pleaded, latching onto his jacket in horror. "Don't! You'll make it worse!"

"I can't just sit by and watch my sister get bullied by some snobby horned bitch…come on, we better get you to Hope's office."

"She's not in. Not since last unit."

Shadow paused. Maria was right. Hope had been absent all afternoon, since he saw all those police cars and the ambulance in Metalwork. He had noticed the Self-Defense room had police tape. He only had a glimpse inside. There was blood. Quite a bit of it. He guessed there had been some sort of attack, but it was strange that no-one else had been told of the circumstances. He guessed Ivo was keeping it to himself to avoid alarm or panic, which was understandable. He groaned and pulled Maria into his own tower and to his own dorm room, which frightened Maria a bit.

"It's OK. You can stay with me until Hope gets back."

"Is that OK?"

"Of course it is." Shadow ushered Maria into his dorm room, getting three looks from Jack, a grey one-eyed rabbit from Soumerca, Jolt, a green roadrunner from a similar region but didn't inherit the southern accent and Ken, a monkey from Yurasia. He left, angry. Maria was about to call him back when she noticed the three staring at her weirdly, scaring her even more.

"U-Um…h-h-hi…?" Maria fearfully greeted. Ken moved first, kneeling slightly so he seemed smaller and lend out a hand for a handshake.

"Hello, it's Maria, right? I'm Ken. That's Jack and the roadrunner's Jolt."

"N-Nice to meet you…I think…"

"Lord…" Ken had noticed her bruises, bumps and bleeding cuts. "…you got hurt major, huh? Come on, I think I've got some bandages and plastics in my bag…" He dove into his bag and pulled out a small medical kit, covering the freshman's cuts with great skill. "There. Done."

"Thank you Ken."

"Ah, no problem."

"So…who did this to you?" Jolt then asked. Maria withered a bit.

"Liza."

"Espio's sister? Yikes." Jack commented, getting a glare.

"You could be more comforting than that!"

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Lotus King."

"Why I oughta…!"

"Can you two knock it off!?" Jolt ordered, getting silence. "That girl is REALLY gonna get it."

XO

He was right.

"LIZA!?"

Liza turned around, gulping when she saw the angry Shadow looming behind her, fists and teeth clenched. She backed away, but this only angered him more.

"YOU BEAT UP MY LITTLE SISTER!?"

"I…I…" She stuttered, sweating buckets before closing her eyes as she prepared for any punishment the dark hedgehog would hand out, be it verbal or physical. She felt something latch onto her hand as she felt Shadow drag her outside and to his own tower, back to his own dorm. He literally threw her inside, pulling her to her feet roughly.

"Now, apologise to her. Now!"

"Why should I? She started it."

"Started it!? You broke my telescope!" Maria revealed, which only made Shadow twitch with hatred and rage.

"You broke her telescope…?" His tone was way too calm. Liza recognized this and guiltily nodded.

"I…I can buy her a new one…"

"OUR DAD MADE THAT FOR HER!" He went on, now shouting at the top of his lungs. "HAVE YOU ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT MEANT TO HER!?"

"I…" She looked away. "It's not fair. Why does everyone have a father but me?" Shadow stopped then.

"What do you mean?"

"My father fought in a war in Yurasia 15 years ago, when mother was pregnant with me. He was shot dead by a sniper, so I never knew him. I've always envied those with fathers. They're the lucky ones. What do I have? A mother who only mopes and cries, never bothering to look after me and Espio…"

Maria and Shadow exchanged nervous glances. All of a sudden, Maria felt sympathy for the chameleon girl.

"I…I'm…"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry, Marie."

"It's Maria. With an A."

"Like I care."

"Listen Liza, you owe Maria a telescope and a proper apology. Do that and you can leave…as long as you promise to NOT touch my little sister ever again!"

"OK, OK…I'm very sorry Maria. I won't do anything like that again. I'll buy you a new telescope at the weekend."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Done." She lent a hand for a handshake. After a groan, Liza shook back, smirking.

"I'll buy you the best one they have."

"It doesn't have to be that elaborate."

"No, no, on me."

"Um…OK…"

"Great!" Liza left then, leaving the boys and Maria alone, though Maria left not soon after.

"So…anyone want a game of Fortune Street?" Jack offered. Let's just say, the room was vacated VERY quickly after that suggestion.

XO

"Get him to resus now!"

Quinn woke with a start. He had fallen asleep at long last and a doctor announcement wakes him up! _Good grief…_

"Oi, oi! Stop with the shoving! OK, OK, I'll stay here!" He heard a voice as two nurses were forcing a male wolf into the waiting room and being met with quite a bit of resistance. He had ruby red fur and piercing but glistening amber eyes.

"Please sir, we're doing our best for your friend."

"Well, that's all well and good but PLEASE tell me if he's OK!"

"Again, we're doing everything we can."

The two nurses left. The wolf began losing it.

"YOU'RE ALL BLOODY WORTHLESS, YOU KNOW THAT!?" He got no response so he sat down silently until he met Quinn's gaze. At first, he looked away but then did a double-take. "Quinn!?" That's when Quinn recognised the boy.

"Gadget!?"

"Hey, Quinn!" He ran over and hugged the hedgehog, smile on his face. "It's great to see you!"

"It has been a long time."

"After you transferred schools, I thought we'd never see each other again."

"Just goes to show how fate works, huh?"

"Quick question though: why are you here?"

"I can ask you the same thing."

"Ugh, you don't wanna know. Stupid bitch Phage again."

"Phage?"

"Y'know, that codex cat who was made from a computer virus and became solid?"

"The one with the snake amber eyes and mask?"

"Yup."

"What did she do THIS time?" Quinn knew Phage was essentially his old school's Mephiles.

"Well…it's about…y'know…him…"

"You mean…Infinite?"

Gadget silently nodded. Quinn faintly remembered the dark jackal. He had not only strange abilities, possible because a jewel got stuck in his chest as a child, but the type of personality that belonged to someone wallowing in self-hatred, which was a possibility.

"Phage slashed his right eye apart. I just hope he's alright…"

"So…why were they taking him to resus?"

"He lost a lot of blood…he stopped breathing on the way so…" He managed to compose himself before he let floods of tears fall. "Your turn. Why are YOU here?"

"A guy called Mephiles attacked one of my friends."

"Mephiles?"

"Call him my school's Phage but then magnify it by 5."

"Y-Yikes…! Is he alright!?"

"Comatose…but stable…but they still don't know if he's going to make it…let alone walk seeing as the stab to his neck damaged his spinal cord…" He remembered the update they received earlier after x-rays came back. He just hoped the damage reversed, but he knew well that was all wistful thinking.

"S-Stabbed!? Oh Aurora…Q-Quinn…I-I-I'm sorry…really…"

"Thanks, Gadget."

"Ahem…um, sir…?" It was one of the nurses that forced Gadget into the room. "Your friend's awake if you want to see him."

"Oh, right. Thank you." He nodded graciously and followed her to another ICU room. Quinn decided to follow. As they reached the room, Gadget ran forward, wrapping his arms around the dark Mobian happily. He was just how Quinn remembered. Infinite was a senior black jackal with pointy ears, white hair flowing down his back almost like ponytails but his eyes…well, one eye as the other was covered with a white eye-patch, was a burning amber; though Quinn the other eye used to be a deep blue. He had a pixelated aura around him. It was a side-effect of the jewel which he called the Phantom Ruby.

"Hey…" Infinite pushed his friend off playfully. "You don't have to be so sentimental 24/7."

"I know but…" Gadget examined his eye. "Phage really got you…is it permanent?"

"Apparently. They said my eyeball's so badly damaged it won't heal. Simply put: I'm officially half-blind."

"Guess who I saw here! Come on, guess!"

"I don't know, do I?"

"Hey, Quinn, you can come in now." Quinn popped his head in, surprising Infinite.

"Quinn, is that really you?"

"Yeah, it's been some months, hasn't it?"

"Since last May, yeah. How's your new school going?"

"Well…alright I suppose…"

"Strange to think you would be here…did something happen?"

"Some guy at his school stabbed one of his mates." Gadget chipped in, getting a slight dark glance.

"I can tell my own stories."

"O-Oh…sorry…"

"And…is he going to be alright?"

Quinn didn't answer. His expression said it all. Infinite bit his lip and also remained silent. That was, until he looked closely at Quinn.

"You…do look different though."

"Different?"

"Before, you were speckled gold…but now…those specks are a murky yellow…"

"H-Huh…?"

"He probably forgot about your condition, y'know." Gadget suggested.

"Condition?" Quinn couldn't remember any condition.

"Infinite has ordinal linguistic personification. He has synesthesia."

"Oh right, of course!" Quinn mentally slapped himself. How could he forget!? "So…my aura's changed colour?"

"Only slightly." Infinite nodded. "Slight colour change…but it's strange…I've never noticed an aura change before."

"Oh yeah, you can see auras as well."

"Yeah…it's only been 4 months and you forget…"

"Remind me, what's my aura?" Gadget grinned.

"It's a cooling blue, like the ocean. It has a very strong calming effect, but sometimes I do get a flash of gold when you're a bit…overactive."

"Hmph…I'm not overactive…"

"You are sometimes."

"Am not!"

"But…you're alright then, Infinite?"

"They're keeping me in the ICU overnight to keep an eye on me. Once they know my eye's slightly healed and won't reopen, as they've stitched the wounds closed, I can go."

"I better go check on Sonic. I'll see you two later."

"Hang on a moment." Both of them got alarmed when Infinite sat up and swung out.

"Hey, you can't do that!" Gadget exclaimed.

"It's just down the hall! I'll be fine." He jumped up, only to get pulled back by a wire that was attached to his chest. "Oh, crap." He grabbed it and ripped it off. The machine turned off, which was lucky because the last thing they needed was it beeping.

"You're gonna regret this."

"Maybe. Maybe not." He followed Quinn further down the hall to a room not even around the next corner. Infinite glanced at the hedgehog within, surprise in his eye. "Oh god…" Gadget also froze when he saw the comatose blue hedgehog. He remained silent, unable to speak. Infinite side-looked at Quinn, noticing he was trembling and his fists were tightly clenched. He rested his own hand on his friend's, sadly smiling. It seemed to comfort Quinn as he slightly relaxed and smiled back.

"Thanks."

"You don't need to thank me." He looked at Sonic again, this time squinting. "Okay…"

"Okay what? Are you reading his aura?"

"Yeah…at least I'm trying to…it's sort of…overwhelming. Almost like it's consuming. His aura's black as night, and it feels cold too…and not just because of him being in this state…it's almost like he's dead inside…yet, there are some speckles of red as well…almost like small sparks or fireworks going off. They're really hot. It's a mixture. It makes me feel sorry for him but also a little wary."

"That's unusual…never heard of hot and cold colours being mixed." Gadget commented.

"It's a first. I better get back before doctors figure I'm disobeying orders. See you around, Quinn." As Infinite left, Gadget ran after him, hyper as always. Quinn looked at his friend.

 _He has to get better...he has to…_

XO

"Remind me why we're doing this?" Sequin groaned. Relic shushed her.

"If we see Merlina and Shahra interact, we'll know for sure Shahra is the Genie Project. Every theory we have at this moment is sheer speculation."

"You do know we're effectively stalking two girls that are YOUNGER than us, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Now, come on, quick and quiet." She hurried to another cold corner, with Sequin internally screaming but following. They saw Merlina and Shahra together, talking.

"Come on, Merlina, just tell me! You and him were planning to get him kicked out!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Scourge told me so! He said Mephiles and you had a pact to join forces and force Sonic out of NMA!"

Sequin and Relic exchanged anxious glances.

"Keep your mouth shut."

"Why should I? I rebelled against you, Merlina. You can't control me anymore!"

"Oh yes I can." Her hand glowed a bewitching magenta. "Just remember, genie, I created you. I gave you the gift of life and I can talk it away just as easily. Is that what you want, hm?"

"N-No…of course not Merlina…"

"Ahem…"

"Sorry, Mistress Merlina."

"Good girl. Come. We have a dinner sitting to attend."

"You make it sound like a chore."

"It is! Besides, I hate the chairs."

The two got out of their hiding position.

"Theory confirmed!"

"Wow, I was not expecting that." Sequin sarcastically muttered, knowing already the outcome they were gonna get. Relic glared at her.

"Come on, we better go get dinner ourselves." As soon as they reached the cafeteria, the PA system suddenly came online, sending a high-pitched wail, hurting everyone's ears, especially Rouge's, seeing as she was a bat and had super-sensitive ears.

"Ah!"

"Can they avoid that when they turn it on!?" Shadow growled.

"They probably do it intentionally." A hedgehog called Breezie muttered, smirking at Rouge, getting a glare.

"Watch it, whore."

"You watch it, bitchface."

"ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS." Ivo's voice came on the mic. "EVERYONE TO THE MAIN HALL IMMEDIATELY. AN EMERGENCY ASSEMBLY IS TO TAKE PLACE IN 5 MINUTES."

"Well…that's us missing our dinner sitting…" Relic groaned. Sequin rolled her eyes.

"Maybe it's about that attack earlier..."

"That is a bit obvious."

"Sorry…I just don't like your dumb comment."

"Gee, thanks."

They filed into the hall, sitting next to their buddies which meant the two girls could sit next to each other. They noticed some seats were empty: three from Merlina's year and two from the Sophomore year. There was an empty chair at the back as well, meaning a senior was missing too. Eventually, Ivo climbed onto stage, tapping the microphone to make sure everyone could hear him.

"Good afternoon, students." He began. "Now, I understand this assembly was sudden but there are two issues I need to address. The first is a punishment for the pre-junior's water-gun prank on the PE Department's teacher Mr Speed. Out of curiosity, who was behind that little…" He paused purposefully. "…joke?"

Speedy, after getting multiple looks, stood, feeling all students' eyes on him at once. Probably the worst feeling ever. Shame, embarrassment and humiliation all in one. Ivo nodded.

"I shall see you in my office after this assembly, Speedy. Please sit." The duck did as he was told. "As for punishment, seeing as most of you hear abandoned your lessons to cheer this stupid act on, is full lockdown for 2 days. All students will be confined to their dorms for exactly 48 hours starting from 9:00am tomorrow morning. Any student who is found wandering outside the dorms without a proper reason will be given a week's suspension. Am I clear?" He got a room of shocked nods. "Now, onto more serious matters. Some of you may know this already, but a vicious assault was made on one of our students this afternoon." Gasps went up around the room. Relic and Sequin exchange glances. "The culprit has already been arrested. I shall not give you the details of the attack. However, Self-Defense classes and any and all self-defence clubs will be suspended until further notice. Also, I want these periods to be filled with STUDY, am I understood?" More nods. "One more thing: several students have been given extra time off due to these tragic events. Visitations or wishes to leave school grounds will have to be approved by both myself and your teachers for that day. Also, extra security will be stationed until Friday with some help from the New Mobotropolis Metropolitan Police and the Echidna Security Team. That is all. You are all dismissed, apart for you, Speedy. My office. Now." Everyone spilled out of the hall, all silent.

"OK…wasn't expecting that…" Sequin muttered as they headed back to the cafeteria to actually have their dinner. "…I wonder who got attacked."

"Do you want to ask a third-year? Apparently, they saw it happen."

"Are we allowed?"

"Should be." They sat with trays of curry with Sally and her twin sister Alicia. "Hey."

"Oh, hi Relic, Sequin." Sally smiled. Alicia was silent, drinking her water as the curry heated up her tongue. The chef had obviously slipped in some extra spice, as she hated dishes that were too hot for her tastes. Sally groaned.

"So…what exactly…you-know…h-happened…?"

"Mephiles. That's all."

"Mephiles…!? Oh, not that bastard again." Relic mumbled. Sally nodded.

"Have you met Sonic yet?"

"I've heard of him. Shadow's friends with his brother."

"Stepbrother. I'm assuming you mean Manic." A nod. "Well, yeah…Mephiles tried to kill him. Second time within 3 days! I just hope he's OK. Sonia, Manic and Ashura have been at the hospital all afternoon. Quinn went too…seeing as Sonic's his best friend and all."

"I thought Rob was his BF."

"You can have more than one best friend, Sequin."

"Can you?"

"Yup."

"What does Mephiles have against this guy? He only started on Sunday. Surely, it was an accident?"

"No, definitely on purpose. I just hope he STAYS in jail and rots in hell."

"Fingers crossed…"

XO

He didn't care how late it was. He didn't care it was past 11 at night. He sat next to Sonic, hand on his, deeply wishing for a twitch, a groan, _something._ Something, anything, would be better than nothing.

"Quinn?" It was Susan. She and Ryan were standing just outside the room. "It's getting late sweetie."

"I know…"

"We can come visit him tomorrow, OK? You've had a very tiring day, some sleep will do you some good."

"If I can sleep at all…" Nevertheless, he nodded and stood, giving his friend one last smile. "I'll be back tomorrow, OK?" While he got no response, he pretended he got a nod and exited the room.

"Oh, you're going?" Sonia asked as they passed the group.

"Unfortunately. Keep me updated, yeah?"

"Always. See you tomorrow…maybe…?"

"Definitely tomorrow."

"You know sis, I'm wondering why Bow didn't show up."

"I'm wondering that as well…I texted him about it but I got nothing back…"

"Had his phone off, that'll be the excuse." Ashura teased, getting Sonia flustered.

"Bow isn't like that! He cares about me!"

"I know, Sonia, I know! I didn't mean he didn't."

"Good, otherwise I would have knocked your head off."

"Ooh…scare-ree…" He teased again. Sonia huffed but just crossed her arms and legs to defuse. Quinn playfully rolled his eyes before leaving the hospital and climbing into the back of his dad's car. Susan turned around to him.

"You're alright?"

"Think so." He only mumbled it.

"Oh, sweetie…" She rubbed his leg, mainly because she couldn't reach his shoulder. "…how about some hot chocolate when we get back, eh? You feel cold."

"Must be the shock, because I feel hot."

"It's just scared nerves." Ryan explained. "A good drink and a good night's sleep will help a bit, though I can't imagine what you and those guys are going through."

"Ryan!" Susan tapped her husband's shoulder. "Some respect, please!"

"S-Sorry, honey. I wasn't thinking…sorry, son."

"No, it's alright. Of course, you guys don't get it and that's OK."

"We want to get it, sweetheart…"

"Yeah, I know…" The car stopped and they entered the house, with Quinn instantly going upstairs and lying on a bed he thought he wouldn't sleep in until the end of the year in July. He was alone for 10 minutes before Susan came in with hot chocolate, as promised.

"Here we go."

"Thanks mum." He took it gratefully and took a small sip. While he usually wasn't fussed much by his parents, despite being an only child, he kind of liked the attention. He finished the cup and flopped onto his bed, sighing to himself. He yawned. He was pretty tired, but he knew the night wasn't going to be smooth sailing.

"I'll see you in the morning, Quinn." She gave him a hug and a kiss before leaving his bedroom, closing the door quietly. Quinn sighed and took off his coat. The moon's light reflected in the metal surface coating his right arm, momentarily blinding him. At least his secret was secret for a few carefree days. He liked school and all, but it would be hard doing lessons straight after what had happened…so the fact he had a few days off was fine by him. He slipped under the covers and tried to sleep, failing miserably. He didn't close the curtains. He kind of liked looking at the moon. It was full and quite big, like a giant spotlight. Eventually, he found himself falling asleep.

XO

"You're welcome to use a hotel for tonight."

"Thank you, I think we will." Jules was grateful that one of the nurses was prepared to pay the family a suite in a hotel across the road out of her own kind heart.

"Dad, do you think Sonic will be OK?" Sonia asked, looking at the floor. Jules sighed.

"I don't know Sonia. I really do hope so. He will need all of us when he does finally come around."

"Dad's right." Ashura nodded. "Sonic may be fiercely independent (sometimes to a fault) but this isn't something he can face alone. He will need help."

"But…the wound to his neck…they said he could be paralyzed. He'll hate that! You know what he's like." Manic panicked.

"Yeah, they did say that…even so, they don't know everything. They said it was only a fracture and will heal…so he shouldn't be…right?" Ashura glanced at Jules but Chuck was the one who answered.

"There could be nerve damage. We just have to be prepared for any diagnosis they give us. Whatever it may be, we have to be there for Sonny."

"Chuck is right." Aleena chipped in. Bernadette and Rogue had already gone. They were using another room 2 floors up. "No matter what, we have to stick together for him. All we have to do is endure the waiting game."

Everyone processed this as they entered the room. There were three rooms: one with two singles, one with one single and one with a Queen size. That left one bed short.

"I'll sleep on the couch." Ashura offered. Everyone agreed to this.

"Hey, Sonia." Manic whispered as they laid in bed 15 minutes later, making sure they were super quiet. "You asleep yet?"

"Course not!"

"Neither am I."

"How can I? What if he dies during the night or something…or…?"

"Sonia, we need to think positive, OK? He won't die. He's too strong to. Sonic will beat this, you'll see. Might take a while but he will overcome this."

"I damn well hope he does…" She stared at the ceiling. "I can't imagine a world without him…"

"Neither can I Sonia." Manic sadly agreed. "Come on, we need to sleep."

"Easy for you to say." She noticed Manic was already snoring away. She rolled her eyes. "That typical idiot…"

XO

 **No pairings.**

 **XO**

 **I'm gonna leave the next time a secret this time around. Just saying, there is gonna be CRAZINESS next chapter…when I can get around to it. Thank you for reading! Read, review, favourite and follow! Thank you!**


	7. An Explosive Confrontation

**Chapter contains the following: coarse language, mentioning of blackmail, terrorist-like actions (on Mephiles' part; similar to Nagito's plan in the anime Danganronpa 3), violence, teenage pregnancy and depression.**

 **XO**

 _ **Chapter 7 – An Explosive Confrontation**_

Why was he nervous? Seeing Ivo was no easy thing to do, seeing as how intimidating the Overlander could be but he knew, for once, Ivo wasn't seeing someone who was about to be lectured. He hadn't done anything wrong, at least he hoped he hadn't. Was he to be punished for the water gun prank even though he did nothing to support it? Probably not. Besides, the school had given him a few days off to get over the shock of…what happened, so detention would be the last thing of their minds. It may have been 3 days, but the memories of that incident still haunted him. He guessed Zouge had been busy as well, with some third-years traumatized by the whole thing. He was standing in front of Ivo's office, but to see him he had to get past his second-in-command, Tundra. He knew little about the walrus, only knowing that he had two sons in the year above him who he didn't want anything to do with. He gently knocked.

"Enter."

He did so, coming face to face with Tundra. He was quite muscular, and not to mention you could definitely tell Rotor and Boomer were related. Only thing was; his tusks shone silver and scars riddled his face. He didn't look up.

"Name?"

Was there a need?

"Er…Quinn, sir."

That's when he looked up, surprise in his cyan eyes.

"Ah, Quinn…Ivo will see you in a few minutes. Please, sit." He sounded pleased but something was wrong with his tone of voice. He did as he was told, sitting politely. After a few moments, Tundra gestured to a closed door. Nodding back, Quinn knocked.

"Do come in."

Quinn had to admit, Ivo had one fancy office, one that a CEO of an international company would have. The carpets were decked in scarlet carpet that slightly sank under his feet. Large glass windows lined the walls, demonstrating the gentle snow that was falling. Ivo was at a desk at the back of the room, typing. Quinn waited until he had finished and got a gesture to sit. Surprisingly, a genuine but small grin crossed the headmaster's face.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Quinn."

"It's good to be back, sir."

Ivo was silent for a moment, grin fading. "I hate to ask…but has there been any…you-know…improvements?"

"U-Um…not really…"

"I see…" Ivo leaned back in his black recliner chair. "…I presume you know about the lockdown commencing later today after classes."

"I am aware sir. I guess that's why you wanted me back in school today?"

"I originally was going to schedule the lockdown for last Wednesday, but considering what happened with Sonic, I had second thoughts. People needed time to comprehend what had happened. That being said, as much as I know you had no part in that…" He paused. "…prank…" Another pause. "…I can't go giving on students inconsistent privileges. I do know you had no part of it, but because everyone BUT you is being put on lockdown, I am bound to impose this on you as well. We don't want any more _attacks_ because a student gets special treatment now, do we?" All he got was a dark glance, which instantly told Ivo he went a bit too far. "But that's by the by. Please, go to whatever lesson you are meant to be in. Now."

"Yes, sir." He went out, slightly miffed. Tundra watched him go and slightly rolled his eyes.

"Kids these days…"

XO

"Kind of nice you're back in school, Quinn." Ash muttered, much to Quinn's initial confusion. He momentarily stopped himself writing endless equations from some worn-out textbook. He had been in his maths class all unit and only now did Ash talk to him. Weird. He noticed Espio and Dive (Mephiles' learning buddy) working together because Mephiles and Sonic were absent. It made more sense.

"Really? You missed me of all people?"

"Oh, no, I didn't miss you. I just lost the person I loved teasing."

"Yeah, like I missed you. To be blunt Ash, I couldn't care less if you were both my buddy and dorm-mate or not."

"Gee, I give you a moment of sentiment and you throw it back in my back. You suck."

"Thanks a lot."

"Ahem." The two looked up. The maths teacher, Dr. Ellidy, was looking at them with warning in his eyes, basically saying "shut up" without using words. The two immediately shut up. The bell then sounded, filling the room. Dr. Ellidy cleared his throat. "All of you, dismissed."

"Great!" Ash ran out. Everyone glared at him. Everyone knew Ash HATED maths, but now he was just acting weirder and weirder.

"What is wrong with that mongoose?" Scourge asked, groaning. Everyone shrugged.

"Personally, I think he's cute."

Everyone turned to see Mina. She was blushing as well as giggling like a toddler.

"Cute!? Ash, cute!?"

"Yup." Mina nodded at Quinn's remark. She laughed again. "I think he's adorable." Everyone blinked but laughed.

"Wow, never thought Ash would get an admirer! All he's good for is listening to punk rock." Scourge grinned.

"Oi, punk rock is a type of music. I like any type of music."

"Seriously? I can't understand it." Knuckles scratched his head.

"That's because you don't understand much." Nack sneered, getting Knuckles riled up.

"What did you say!?"

"N-Nothing!"

"I'm warning you, Nack, one more word and you fist is gonna go into the space between your eyes!"

"O-O-OK, Knux, OK!" Nack inched away from the echidna.

"What do you see in Ash, Mina?" Sally asked. The mongoose blushed, lovesickness in her green eyes.

"A handsome boy who adores music just like I do! He's such a dreamboat and one day he's gonna be mine!" She giggled and ran after Ash, leaving the small group who were talking with her sweat-dropping.

"Typical Mina…"

XO

A knock came at Shard's dorm door. Standing outside it, a malicious intent in his eyes, was Jason, making Shard buzz in annoyance.

"Forget it, Jason, I ain't giving you any more money!"

"Relax, bolt-face, I'm not here for any dosh. That can wait. I just heard from a little bird that you have a crush on that AI lynx girl in my year…Nicole?"

Shard stared at Jason.

"How did you…?" His hands clenched. "If you're gonna match-make me and Nicole, please don't! She's going out with Elias, for crying out loud!"

"I know that…but doesn't mean we can't…" He paused, tapping his fingers together in an evil-genius way. "…sabotage the relationship…"

"Are you insane!?" Shard exploded, eyes glowing red with rage. "Elias loves that chick and I'm cool with that. I'm even older with Elias so it wouldn't work! Besides, I can't just sabotage a relationship!"

"It's going downhill…" Jason tempted. "Elias has been having second thoughts about the whole thing…besides…I heard he has a thing for little old Meg."

"Meg? Megan? Seriously?"

"Yup."

"Damn it Jason, you're not taking me with your hare-brained lies! Get lost before I rocket-punch you." His arm signalled gold, signifying he had been charging an attack the entire conversation. Jason still didn't back down.

"Hey, calm it, will ya? It was just a silly suggestion. That being said, you may not wanna join in, but I will." He started walking off with Shard chasing him down.

"Jason! Jay!" Jay was a nickname. "This is insanity, man! Sure, I do like Nicole but she's not for me! Elias is her boyfriend and it'll stay like that until they break up NATURALLY! Make one move to move in on them and I'll cut your fucking arm off!" His hand began a chopper in warning. A sly smirk crossed the hyena's face. "Oh, you're gonna smirk now, are ya? Believe you me, I ain't gonna let you ruin a sweet relationship!"

"Oh, and you want me to tell everyone your little…ahem…origin story?"

Shard felt every wire in his body twitch with rage. He may have been born a robot, but he was deciding that he couldn't care less what people thought of him.

"Go on then. Tell them. See if I care."

"You'll be hated, isolated, bullied…if you stick to my plan, you're guaranteed the girl, mate."

"You're not tempting me. I don't care if the whole school didn't give a damn about me. I have Larry and I have Sally. As long as I have them, nothing matters! Go on, spill my little secret because I'm done being blackmailed!" He stormed off, leaving the hyena in slight shock before he grinned.

"You don't care, huh…? We'll see about that."

XO

"So, you dumped Scourge? 'Bout time." Dulcy comforted, combing Fiona's hair with a comb. She just shrugged emotionlessly. She shared a room with the dragon, Sealia and Erma, a red-haired ermine. The fox only sighed.

" _He_ dumped _me_."

"How come?" Erma asked. Fiona bit her lip violently.

"Scourge is a bit of a…I don't know…lady-killer. I've seen him chat up many girls…I spent a lot of time with Ebony because he's more of a gentleman."

"Ze were cheating on him?"

"Not exactly, Sealia. We never did anything other than flirts. Scourge got narked because Mari exposed the lies…now I've lost both of them."

"There's plenty of fish in the sea, Fi." Dulcy smiled, continuing her grooming of Fiona's red locks. "Scourge and Ebony just weren't the right guys for you. It happens."

"Yeah but still…" Her fists clenched. "I should have tried harder to make it work. What am I really? Just a bitch."

"Come, now. Zhat is not right." Sealia scolded, face serious. "If Scourge cannot tend to his madame, then he is nothing. He is not worth your time."

"I…guess so…" At that moment, a knock came from the door. When Erma opened it, it was Buns, a sandy-furred rabbit who tended to wear black clothes with no shoes. She seemed out of breath.

"Buns, what's going on?"

"You girls have gotta come to the cafeteria! Somethin' big is goin' down!" She spoke with a thick Southern accent. After some exchanges between the four girls, they all hurried down to the cafeteria, surprised at what they saw.

XO

Mere minutes before, the entire cafeteria was buzzing. Quinn noticed students giving nervous glances to each other, like they trusted no-one. It had only been 3 days since the attack, granted, but for Quinn it had felt a lot longer. He wouldn't show it, but he was really worried. He had grown very fond of the blue hedgehog within a short span of time but for that to happen…with teacher supervision and all…he still couldn't fully comprehend it. Even after three days off, it was hard to get back into a normal school routine. He also couldn't help overhearing a group of girls, namely Mindy, Honey and Daisy in the 2nd year and Mina in his own, whispering fearfully. Mina noticed him first.

"Quinn…"

"What's going on?" He wandered over. Mina withered uncomfortably before muttering her next choice of words.

"You're not going to believe this but…Mephiles is back at school." This shocked Quinn. Mephiles should have been in jail! He had gotten arrested from what he was told by Ash and some others. He wondered if it was down to a lack of evidence but there had been loads of witnesses…so the entire statement made zero sense.

"B-But…he got arrested, didn't he?"

"Apparently, Eclipse paid bail. The police are treating it like a fucking accident so they're not really taking his release seriously. Plus, he's "underage" to be put in a mainstream jail anyways so…yeah, he's back until his trial in 2 weeks' time. Plus, no-one is doing anything against him – they're too afraid of him. Talk about getting away with it."

Quinn felt his thoughts and heart quicken in faint rage. Something was wrong in him for sure…but what? He heard laughter from the other side of the room. A very, VERY familiar and dark laugh that made his fur stand on end as his body shook as his rage began increasing. It was Mephiles, standing with a group of seniors (Eclipse, Tex and Drago, all which were laughing along with him, seemingly have forgotten what the demon had done). Quinn stared at them for a while, all while his mood quickly deteriorated.

"You should have seen his face!" Mephiles gloated, a malicious grin on his sly face. "I got him good there! Sure, he deserved a lot worse…I should have killed him there and then but you can guarantee he won't mess with…"

"MEPHILES!"

The room instantly hushed when everyone heard Quinn shout the bully's name. Mephiles looked at Quinn and his grin grew larger.

"Are you serious? Out of everyone in this hellhole of a school, the bloody pacifist is the only one to speak up? Talk about pathetic!" His group laughed while others shook with half-intrigue, half-fear about Quinn's safety. If Mephiles could attack Sonic with 2 teachers in the room and 30 other students, then hurting Quinn in a room with no teachers and only about 12 students would be a breeze. Quinn didn't retaliate. He didn't yell nor attack, but just slowly walked forward, staring at the hedgehog straight in his snake green irises.

"Well…you're right about one thing." He calmly agreed. "I am a pacifist. I'm not ashamed to be. I also may be the first to stand up to you, and you want to know why? I don't fear you. I have no reason to. You don't scare me." He took another step forward, with everyone watching with baited breath, surprised, scared but intrigued on where this was going to go. "However…I'm not the first to know this: you pick on others to make yourself feel big…" His calm voice was rising in tone, anger starting to flood into him as he remembered the incident all over. His fists clenched. That's when Mephiles gulped. One thing about Quinn was perfectly clear:

He. Was. PISSED.

Nevertheless, Quinn continued. "…you torture others to entertain yourself…" He bared his teeth as his anger fully exploded. "…and to top it all off, you almost killed a freshman who only stood up to you to protect the ones he loves! You have NO idea what he's gone through, OK Mephiles!? You're nothing but a coward hiding behind a mask of cruelty and evil to mask your own pain! You take it out on others without a regard of what they feel or how it hurts them!" This is when the five senior girls ran in, surprise on their faces. He calmed down a bit then, huffing slightly to regain his composure. Shouting like that isn't his usual personality, and people knew it. It seemed like it was all over until Mephiles only chuckled.

"Doesn't matter anyway. Like you'd do anything, Mr Perfect. All you care about is keeping OUT of trouble…but that whole pacifism acts sounds great but it's not exactly practical, is it now? You never resort to violence, so there. Now, if you don't mind, I have stuff to do." He turned to leave but a deep growl came from Quinn, alerting Mephiles and the other students in the room that the confrontation wasn't over, only beginning.

"Oh, you have things to do, huh? Fine, but you better watch your back. I'm sure a lot of people will want a piece of you, after the hell you put everyone through, so I wouldn't be surprised if they beat you to hell." He had come right up to him, eyes faintly red. Mephiles glanced at the sea of other students, noticing their dark and shadowy looks, ones of pure hate. Many more had entered the room now. Because of Quinn's calm tone, his anger was apparent to all but Mephiles. "But you are right about one thing: I don't resort to violence. However, believe me when I tell you this!" His voice rose again. Mephiles only grinned.

"And yeah? And what are you going to…?"

 _ **SMASH!**_

Mephiles instantly froze as a collective gasp went up around the room. He fearfully looked to his left. Quinn had punched the wall, with his fist going all the way through as if he was punched something soft and flimsy. Quinn was huffing. Clearly he wasn't used to punching things. He retracted his hand but pointed at Mephiles.

"You better listen, for I will only say this once: you hurt anyone, torture anyone or give Sonic any trouble of any kind, you better pray that it doesn't reach my ears…for if it does and I find you've been causing pain and distress to Sonic or anyone else…next time, I will NOT miss! Am I clear?" He got a scared and desperate nod. Quinn shook the concrete off his hand and walked off as if nothing had occurred, leaving one scared Mephiles and one room of silent awe-struck students. Eclipse was the first to move, checking his brother was alright.

"Y-You…OK, bro?"

"Yeah…y-yeah, I'm fine…I think…" He sounded shaky. Eclipse could understand why.

"Come on, we need to get you somewhere alone." He grabbed Mephiles by the hand and dragged him outside, ignoring the dark and menacing glares he was getting from everyone else.

XO

The noise that hit Quinn's ears as he got back into his dormitory was the sound of his phone's messaging ring-tone, which was the theme to Mega Man. It was a message from Sonia, which instantly meant something was up.

 **Sonia:** U alone right now?

 **Quinn:** Yeah, why? Has something happened?

 **Sonia:** Bow texted me. Mephiles is BACK!?

 **Quinn:** Unfortunately.

 **Sonia:** How dare he show his face!? Bow said you taught him a lesson? What happened to pacifism?

 **Quinn:** …Long story, Sonia. Honesty, he pushed me to it. I did warn him to back off. I think he got the message.

 **Sonia:** I got it. That was really brave.

 **Quinn:** Thanks…I guess…how's Sonic?

 **Sonia:** His breathing's improving at least. He's off the life support. Still no response though.

The conversation ended there. It was good to finally have some good news…but it was overshadowed by the fact he still wasn't responding to anyone or anything. The door opened and it was Ash.

"Finally I get some peace and quiet." He slammed the door and flopped onto his bed, despite there being only 5 minutes until the end of lunch. Quinn looked confused.

"Why? What happened?"

"Mina. Chasing me like a cat does a mouse!" Another knock.

"Oh, Ashy…!" It was Mina, resulting in Ash shrieking and diving underneath his bed, shaking manically. Quinn wasn't sure whether to laugh or to feel sorry for the mongoose. "I know that you're in there!"

"Quinn…whatever you do…do NOT let that crazy chick in here." Came a dark mumble. That was a shame, because Quinn was about to do just that. Instead, he opened the door a crack.

"Listen, Mina, Ash isn't here, OK?"

"A-Are you sure…?"

"I think he started going towards next lesson. You know he likes physics."

"OK, thanks Quinn." She tottered off. Quinn watched her go and eventually Ash peeked too, but cautiously. He actually smiled.

"Whoa, you got rid of her!"

"Wasn't that hard."

"I hate to say it, but I owe you one. You're not as bad as I thought. We better go though." As he spoke, the bell rang. Quinn had a feeling this was going to be one of those lessons without a teacher, seeing as the school's Physics teacher was actually Charles, Sonic's uncle. He doubted he was back in school. Regardless, they wandered to the science block and went up to the 1st floor. Guess who was waiting.

"ASHY!" Mina barrelled into Ash, love-hearts in her eyes. Ash had a look of horror on his face. This time, Quinn laughed.

"Oh, screw you!"

"Sorry, it's funny."

"No it is not!"

"Why would you hide from me, Ashy?" Mina pouted, upset. "Am I really that scary?"

"N-No, of course not! You're not scary, just a little deranged! I get that you have a crush on me but it's not gonna happen! I'd rather date Zeena." Mina was silent before she burst into tears and ran off. Ash sighed. "Harsh but it had to be done."

"You don't consider other people's feelings, do you?" Quinn muttered, getting a shrug. "At least _he's_ been barred from lessons…"

"Hallelujah." Came the coarse reply.

"I'm going after Mina." Came a voice. It was a green tortoise called Bunker who wore an orange Chinese top and sandals alongside black leggings. She immediately went towards the girls bathrooms. She popped her head in and heard crying. Mina was sorting out her mascara, still sniffling. "Mina?"

"Oh, hey." She sniffed, finishing her make-up. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you."

"Oh, right. Of course."

"Look, you know what Ash is like. Don't let him get to you. I hate to seem that I'm on his side, but you do act like Amy at times."

"Don't compare me with that pink psycho."

"Oh, sorry…I didn't mean any offense by it." Bunker muttered, patting the mongoose on the shoulder.

"What are you two babies whining about?" The new voice came from Zeena, a green-skinned "Zeti" with long ivy coloured hair, yellow eyeballs with blue irises and wore a black dress with tights and matching shoes. Her nails were painted a glossy pink and a black and pink horn decorated her head. "Man, you sound loud enough to shatter the windows! What's all that whimpering for, eh?"

"Lay off, Zee. She just got insulted by a boy she has a large crush on, so go away." Bunker warned, resulting in Zeena only laughing.

"Boy issues, eh? I know what THAT feels like. If you want, I can sort him out…but I think one attack in this school is enough."

"Don't even bring it up!" Mina screamed. "I don't care if you have a crush on Eclipse which means you'll back him and Mephiles no matter what, but it is so insensitive to joke about someone who could have _died!_ "

"He didn't though, did he?"

"Well, no but still…!"

"Personally, I couldn't care less. I didn't know him, didn't talk to him nor did I form any bond with him. He's just another average student I don't bother with. Why should I care?"

"Have you forgotten that the entire student body is like a family!? Remember the school's motto: "through intelligence we succeed, through strength we excel". We as one body help each other strive for the top grades but it's so much more than that!"

"Stop your yapping, turtle-neck, unless you want me to play curling with a shell." That shut Bunker up. "Anyway, Mephiles may have tried to kill, but he had good reason to."

"W-What lie are you gonna pull now!?" Mina yelled.

"Did you know that he and Eclipse got badly beaten up by this boy?"

"I'm sure if he did, he had good reason to!"

"Wrong. Did it for no reason at all. I saw the entire thing. Pass it on, will ya? Ta-ra!" She sashayed out. The two girls grimaced at each other.

"She's lying. There's no way…no way he would…"

"Mephiles does generally pick on Shadow and Manic. Manic's his stepbrother, right?"

"Yeah, so that means he was provoked."

"That horned bitch, trying to ruin his reputation…that fucking whore!"

"Something tells me a conspiracy is starting to brew…hey, Mina, we better get back to class."

"Y-yeah…if we HAVE a class." They exited and headed back for their room, which still looked the same: 28 students waiting for news on if they were going to get a lesson or not. After enough 15 minutes, everyone gave up and headed to the dorms and other places. Not Relic. She was heading towards the library.

"Remember: be quiet." Said the librarian, who everyone called "Mr Talkative", though his real name was Fastidious Beaver.

"I will." She mumbled, heading towards one of the PCs and logged on. She was mainly looking at the release date of an upcoming game: "Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony" which was being released sometime near the end of the month for PC, PS Vita and PlayStation 4. She blamed Honey. She had gotten her hooked. Only 20 days to go until the 26th.

"Psst." She looked behind her. It was Julie-Su, a pink echidna with lilac eyes and a cyber dreadlock due to her heritage with a terrorist cell called the Dark Legion, which her ancestor, Menniker, had set up.

"Oh, hey Julie."

"Shush…can we go somewhere private? Say, the bathroom?"

"U-Uh…yeah, sure…let me just log off…" She did so and the two headed towards the girls bathrooms. There was no-one in there apart from them. Julie looked like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. "H-Hey, what's up?"

"Remember that me and Knuckles got together during the summer?"

"Let me guess, he broke up with you."

"No, nothing as dramatic as that but this is way worse, especially when our parents find out."

"Why…?"

"We…um…kind of…you know…had sex during the summer. We were both a little drunk…but I never thought…"

"Julie, you're making zero sense."

"I'm pregnant, alright!?" There was a stunned silence.

"B-But…that's amazing!"

"I'm 17, Relic! 17! I'm a student which means I'll have to give the baby away…and my parents will probably force me into an abortion because they'll be appalled. Y'see, the Dark Legionnaires and the Brotherhood, which is a tribe that Knuckles is related to, don't get along. Just me and him dating is breaking the rules but a child? A half blood on both sides!? This is gonna spark another war!" She had crouched into a ball, beginning to lose her cool. Relic sat with her.

"Maybe this child will bring peace, not war…"

"Have you ever met Knuckles' dad!? He's very stern towards me. Thought I was taking advantage of his son. My parents were cool with us dating…but they did warn me to be very careful…and now this happens…!"

"Does Knux know?"

"No, not yet. I'm too scared to tell him."

"You have to tell him eventually! How far are you gone?"

"About 7 weeks."

"Do you want me to be with you when you tell him?"

"…I…I suppose…"

"Come on then…"

XO

 _Idiot._

 _Idiot!_

 _IDIOT!_

Repeatedly, Scourge threw small stones into the fountain, guilt and rage filled him up. Why did he slap her!? He knew she had been playing him, but he had been playing her, chatting up other girls. He meant no ill-will towards Fiona. It was just in his damn nature. His phone buzzed. He ignored it. It was probably from his father. Eventually, he dug it out and read the message.

 **? – I heard about you and Fi.**

 **Scourge – Lay off. It's all over now. I know you liked her but I'm not getting back together with her.**

 **? – Scourge, did I not teach you any curtsey towards the ladies?**

 **Scourge – She was CHEATING on me! How am I gonna get back together with her if I can't trust her? Huh? HUH!?**

 **? – Well, you know the situation at the moment. Have you considered telling them?**

 **Scourge – I can't dad. They won't believe me. Especially the twins.**

 **? – The longer you leave it, the harder it'll be. I'd tell them now.**

 **Scourge – And Quinn? How is he gonna take this?**

 **? – I don't know. He'll accept it, I'm sure. I get you have a bit of a rivalry with him but I'm sure you can put it aside.**

 **Scourge – I'll tell them when this whole thing with Meph blows over, dad. Promise.**

 **? – Fair enough.**

Scourge threw his phone into his bag, throwing enough stone into the water before leaving, the idea of finally telling the truth for once in his life whirling in his mind.

XO

"ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS. THE 48-HOUR LOCKDOWN WILL COMMENCE IN 5 MINUTES. ALL STUDENTS WILL REPORT TO THEIR DORMITORIES IMMEDIATELY. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN SUSPENSION. THANK YOU."

Everyone had literally groaned at this (especially the 21 pre-juniors involved with the prank) and had returned to the dorm rooms as each dorm monitor locked each of the doors, only opening them to chaperone groups to the cafeteria for dinner room by room. Mephiles, however, was locked in one of the empty classrooms that was used for storage, mainly because he had been completely isolated from the other students in class time. He sat at the desk, tapping his fingers on the surface, annoyed. Sitting here was boring. He needed to stir things up.

Making sure the door had no-one around, he grabbed an extension cord, attached it to another and kept going until he had a long chain. He tied the plug end to a pipe and rappelled down the wall of the building, being careful to not get caught. His first port of call was the old Metalwork classroom. It was empty. He grabbed a spherical metal and moulded it into a perfect shape that could open. He headed to the Chemistry classroom and grabbed some wires. Lastly, he took some explosive chemicals from the Chemistry storage room and prepared the best weapon known to a malicious mastermind: a perfectly-real bomb. Sure, this was downright stupid and dangerous but he didn't care. He took the finished bomb and tiptoed to the Pre-Junior tower, ducking behind a tree when he saw Sleet patrolling the entrance. Luckily for him, he had been at the school long enough to know each tower had a secret entrance. He went up to the wall parallel to the tree, pressed several bricks that revealed a door, which he snuck into. He had the bomb in one hand and, now in the relax lounge, hid the bomb underneath one of the lights on the ceiling, directly underneath the foundations of the next floor up. He revealed a second bomb from under his jacket. He slipped off his shoes, snuck upstairs and did the same with the relax lounge on that floor. Satisfied, he activated the timers for 15 minutes and silently left, exiting the tower through the hidden door, sealing it and climbing up to the classroom and hiding the extension "rope" just as Nazo popped his head into the door.

"What are you scheming, Mephiles?" He snarled. Mephiles only shrugged.

"Nothing."

"I know when you're up to no good. I can see it in your eyes."

"Oh? Suddenly, you're an expert?"

"Is that a confirmation?"

"Look, _sir_ , I haven't done ANYTHING! Why does everyone automatically assume I'm the bad guy?"

"Because you've proven you are, after you did to that blue hedgehog…"

"He asked for it. Shame he survived. I was hoping to kill him there and then. Guess his survival tactics are actually better than I thought."

"Your lack of empathy and guilt disgusts me." He left then, angrily locking the door. Mephiles only grinned evilly to himself and checked his watch.

4 minutes to go.

He looked out of the window, seeing the tower peek over the art annex. He couldn't wait to watch them go up in flames. He would have done that to all towers, but he wouldn't have had neither the time nor the materials to do so.

3 minutes.

2.

1.

He was counting down now. This was going to be fun to watch…

XO

A strange sound hit Sleet's ears. Since he was a rather ugly (say some students) dog, his hearing was rather refined. The noise seemed to come from the relax lounge, both on the ground and 1st floors. It was a slow but alarming beeping noise that may have not been loud but was loud enough for him to pinpoint the location of the sound. It was coming from behind one of the lights. It was a spherical object with wires coming out of it and a timer. How long was on it?

2 minutes.

Alarmed, he fiddled with the keys and starting unlocking all the doors, both for the girls and the boys.

"Out!" He yelled, turning on the fire alarm to get people's attention. "All of you out! Now!" No-one wasted any time. Everyone was either yelling and screaming as they got outside. As the last person exited the tower, a loud boom was heard like a shotgun. There was no fire it seemed but smoke was billowing from the windows. More screams. Some of the girls were cowering in terror. Many other people from other towers came out, having been allowed to get a glimpse of what had happened.

"What the hell!?" Came the voice of Eclipse, amber slitted eyes wide in both horror and shock. "W-W-What happened!?"

"It seems we have someone with terrorist tendencies." Sleet deducted, slightly bruised from the shockwaves the explosion gave out. His hands tightly clenched. "Does anyone hear have an experience with bomb-making?"

No-one raised a hand.

"ALL OF YOU!" It was Ivo, marching over purposefully but stopped in shock as he saw the flaming pre-Junior tower. "U-Uh…OK…"

"Sire, your orders?"

"All Pre-Juniors to the Main Hall. The rest of you, we'll do a building search on each tower and I will escort you back in one year group at a time. Third years, you are dismissed." All 30 Pre-Juniors left, most in numb shock. As they headed to the Main Hall, Sally's eyes were misted over angrily.

"This has Mephiles' name all over it."

"There's no evidence of that!" Mina alerted. Sally crossed her arms.

"He's the only one with the incentive."

"Yeah, but still…"

"Sal's right." Shift muttered. "He's the only student who would do something this horrific. What I can't understand is the motive."

"Sounds like a Danganronpa case, if you ask me." Relic joked, earning many looks of intrigue.

"What's…Dangan…oh, whatever you said?" Nack asked.

"It's a visual novel game series Honey got me into. It's set in a high school where 16 "Ultimate" students have to survive a killing game. Main rule is this: kill one other student and survive the Class Trial and you get away scot-free. It does involve a lot of investigation though."

"OK, so what has that game got to do with this reality?"

"I was just comparing the scene, Knux! Sheesh."

"I would have thought Meph would leave everyone alone after Quinn's demonstration earlier."

"Did you have to bring that up, Shahra?" Quinn asked, resulting in the Arabian monkey shrugging.

"I…don't know…because what you did was pretty awesome."

"You bet it was! You should have seen his face!" Knuckles laughed. Rob patted Quinn's shoulder.

"Just ignore them."

"I am doing."

The conversation could have gone further but suddenly, Quinn's phone rang, so he took it out of his coat pocket and took it, mouthing an apology to the others.

"Hello?"

"Quinn!" It was Sonia's voice on the other side. She sounded panicked.

"Hey, I'm betting Bow already told you about the explosion. Don't worry, we're all fi…"

"No, it's not that!"

"O-OK…what's up?"

"I-I-It's Sonic…h-h-he…"

The amount of panic that suddenly became apparent on Quinn's face as a bombshell spilled into his ear. He could hear others calling his name, asking if he was alright but he felt sick to his stomach.

"O-OK, Sonia. I'll be there as quick as I can." He disconnected, breaking down into tears. Rob was the first to him, gently stroking his shoulder despite Quinn being slightly taller.

"What's wrong?" He softly asked, tone quiet to avoid a meltdown and to show he was neutral to the situation. Quinn just bit his lip.

"I-It was Sonia on the phone."

"Was it an update?" Dive asked, getting a faint nod.

"It obviously wasn't good." Merlina stated the obvious, but her voice was a sneer, getting a room full of dark glares.

"No, it wasn't b-because…" Quinn found himself unable to say it but eventually managed to croak it out. "…h-he stopped breathing."

 **XO**

 **MINA AND ASH – CRUSH (ONE-SIDED ONLY)**

 **SHARD AND NICOLE – CRUSH (ONE-SIDED ONLY)**

 **ELIAS AND MEGAN – SECRET CRUSH…?**

 **XO**

 **How's that for a cliff-hanger? Sorry about the delays in uploading.**

 **XO**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 **The school opens an investigation into the bombing. Will Mephiles get caught?**

 **The lockdown gets lifted! Weekend craziness for everyone!**

 **More importantly: am I about to kill the Blue Blur off?**

 **XO**

 **See you all next time…whenever that may be**


	8. Truth and Lies

**Chapter contains homophobic bullying, swearing, horrific violence, teenage pregnancy and possible abuse. There are also references to suicide.**

 **WARNING: Slight horror scene coming up but it's not that bad.**

 **XO**

 ** _Chapter 8: Truth and Lies_**

Everyone at NMA loved weekends. No lessons, no rules for being on campus. Sure, everyone was not allowed off school property all day Saturday but now, with it being Sunday, everyone was allowed to go off campus. Even more luckily for them, Ivo had given up on the whole lockdown idea apart from Mephiles. No-one knew for sure he was responsible for the explosion (which wasn't even a proper bomb; it was just a smoke bomb that caused slight ceiling and foundation damage but it wasn't that major. The boom was just to scare them) but they had clamped down on his security. The windows were now locked. He hadn't said anything to this but he was mad. Did they know? Did they even suspect? He damn well hoped not. He glanced out the window. Someone caught his eye. A young green duck, eyes cyan, a zany smile on his muzzle. He formed a mini bomb that exploded in a harmless rainbow mist, chuckling gleefully (and slightly insanely) to himself. An idea formed. He still had one bomb left (successfully hidden among some cardboard boxes) and he knew teachers were doing random dorm checks. All he had to do was frame him. They knew nothing on him. He had no background in either good or bad. The more information they lacked, the more suspicious they could get without being biased.

"Man, I come up with the most genius of ideas sometimes…" He muttered, an evil smirk crossing his muzzle.

XO

"I'm glad we could do this, Wave."

"Uh-huh…" Wave groaned to Elise, walking slightly behind her to avoid blushing in front of her. The last thing she wanted was to do this but nope. She was on a shopping trip, essentially a DATE, with the one girl she had a huge crush on! Luckily, she had brought Jet and Storm along too. They were the only ones who knew the truth and had a plan in case they needed to get Wave out of there. They stopped outside a high-class boutique and Elise peered into the glass, intrigued.

"See that top?" She was pointing to a sparkly cold-shoulder top that was white with sequined stars. "That sort of thing will suit you. Let's go try it on!" She went inside. Wave hesitated before following the hedgehog to the changing rooms where Elise was talking to a clerk. "What size are you?"

"U-Uh…" That made her blush. Elise cupped her mouth.

"S-Sorry, I know it's a sensitive question but we need to find the right size."

"OK, I'm a 14."

"OK, here you go." She handed the top to Wave who, after an eye-roll, went inside and came out wearing the top with Elise's face lighting up. "Wow…I knew it looked good but you look amazing, Wave!"

"I…I do…?"

"Yeah, you look so cute!"

"C-Cute…?" She wasn't sure if it was just a regular old compliment or a flirt. "I…guess I do look cute in it. Anyone would."

"Maybe…but it suits you to a T. I'll buy it for you." After Wave had taken it off and given it to Elise, Jet and Storm were giving her humoured glances.

"What?"

"You really are gay, aren't ya?" Jet teased. Wave's face turned red in both rage and embarrassment.

"Jet! I told you! Don't say that out loud in public!"

"Aw, come on Wave! Lighten up! What's the worst that can happen?"

"Here we go!" Elise came back with a bag and gave it to Wave. She had a smile on her face but Jet and Storm could see something dark in her cyan eyes.

"Thank you. I'll pay you back."

"No, there's no need for that! It's on me! Don't worry about it."

"Thanks." She went to look in the bag but stopped. All that was in was some crumbled white tissue paper that the top WOULD have been wrapped in. The top was nowhere to be seen. "W-What…?" She felt someone slam her topaz-tinted racing glasses, usually worn just for decoration, onto her face, hitting her eyes hard. Someone also pushed her to the ground. She managed to look up. Elise was looming over her, hands on hips, not impressed. She looked a lot taller than before and not just because of the angle. Elise was known for being quiet and subdued; often not speaking when asked and often seeming almost shy. Yet, her personality had gone under a sudden drastic change and not a nice one.

"To think you actually had the nerve to lure me out here."

"Lay off, Elise." Jet warned, shielding the swallow. "What the heck are ya going on about!?"

"Oh, I heard you. Little miss Babylon Rogue is _gay_!? What the heck, girl!? What were you going to do, hit on me?"

"N-No, of course not…!"

"Now that I think about it, it makes a whole lotta sense, with you staring at me all day long! What else were you gonna do? Try and kiss me? Try and have sex with me or something!?"

"Now, hang on a sec! Who said I had any feelings for you at all!?"

"It's obvious, you little slut."

"Alright, you've made your point! Keep the shirt, you skank. Storm, get Wave out of here. Now." Jet ordered.

"Rogar that, Boss." Storm gently got Wave to her feet and guided her out of the store. Jet gave Elise the stink eye.

"Tell anyone about Wave's sexuality and you're dead. Get it? Her choice in lover is strictly private. Spill the beans and you'll be sorry."

"And what are you gonna do…sophomore?"

"I may be only a sophomore but I could junior rodeo you in 60 seconds. Believe me, you bitch, you don't want to cross me. I did karate at the age of 7 and I remember a good deal of it."

"Ooh, scar-ree!"

"Excuse me, miss, sir." One of the workers, a fuchsia fox, interrupted, slightly nervous. "You're disturbing the other customers. If you want to fight, might I highly recommend you do it outside?"

"Oh, bite me." She rushed off, angered. Jet hurried off too, catching up to his team-mates and herding the two away from the high street. Wave was silent, huffing and rubbing the place where Elise had pushed her.

"You alright, Wave?" Jet asked, concern in his azure eyes.

"I will be." She mumbled, wishing she could have been born straight like all the other girls at school.

XO

It was a scary feeling. He wished Ivo had allowed him to visit the hospital yesterday but _nope_ , the headmaster was so hung up on the attempted blowing up of the tower that he wasn't letting anyone off school campus, regardless of circumstance. That really riled him up. His phone had died not long after receiving the phone call so he hadn't heard any news on Sonic, since his phone took eternity and a half to charge with the bad plugs in the main hall, where they had spent the night while police searched the tower to make sure it was both safe and secure. As soon as he had told everyone, the entire room had hushed with shock, 29 pairs of eyes looking at him in complete horror as all of them feared the worst had occurred; an actual student dying. He hoped to God that hadn't happened but he wasn't sure on how certain he was. Sure, he believed Sonic was OK but what if he wasn't? That alone was causing a lot of unnerving thoughts. However, he finally had been allowed out of school grounds. He knew many people were hitting the town, so today was the perfect day. He was just happy that Ivo had gone back on the lockdown. Waiting 2 more days would have sent him insane. Literally.

"Hey, Quinn."

He turned around. Scourge was there, looking a bit nervous. That was unusual for starters. He was also the last person to see on the way to the hospital.

"Scourge? What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, actually."

"Can this be quick? I have to…"

"I know. I was heading there as well."

"Why?"

"There's something I have been meaning to tell you. I was kind of waiting for this whole stabbing thing to blow over but, after what you said yesterday…I need to tell someone this."

"Go on."

"You know a guy called Rogue, right?"

"Rogue…? Yeah, he's married to Sonic's mum now."

"That's right. My main point is this: he's my dad."

"Your dad…? Wait, if he's married to Bernadette then that means…she's your…your…" He blinked as the answer came to him. "…step-mum."

"And Sonic and Ashura are my stepbrothers." Quinn just stared at him, brown eyes wide with both amazement and slight shock.

"D-Do they even know!?"

"Ashura does. Sonic doesn't. That was why I was waiting until this whole thing with Meph blew over. I wanted to tell him face to face. Can't just say "hey, we're stepbrothers", can I?"

"What about Sonia and Manic? Do they know your relation?"

"Nope, they haven't got a clue neither."

"So, only I and Ashura really know."

"You're Sonic's best friend and all. I guess I just wanted to tell someone. Dad was pressurizing me into it yesterday through text." Quinn would have replied if they hadn't reached the entrance to the hospital. As they went in, Quinn instantly saw the small group of hedgehogs huddled, each one having a face of both worry and relief. Sonia saw Quinn first and jumped up to hug him. Rogue noticed Scourge and gestured to him.

"You going to tell them?"

"Haven't got a choice, have I?"

"Tell us what?" Manic asked. Rogue and Scourge exchanged nervous glances before Scourge sighed.

"Rogue is actually my dad."

"YOUR DAD!?" Both twins gawked at the same time.

"Yup. Ashura and Sonic are my stepbrothers."

"A-And…Sonic doesn't know?" Sonia suggested, getting a shake of the head.

"No, he doesn't. How could I tell him? We've only known each other for a few days. Suddenly saying "oh, guess what? We're stepbrothers!" is a bit weird. He wouldn't have believed me."

"How come you haven't returned my calls, Quinn?" Sonia then demanded.

"My phone died and the hall mains aren't good. My phone's still only on 45% but Rob is looking after it."

"Why were you charging your phone in the hall?"

"Some idiot placed a smoke bomb in our tower. It was down for maintenance as well as security reasons." Scourge explained, earning shocked glances.

"This has Mephiles' name all over it." Manic growled, hands curling into tight fists.

"Don't get all hung up on it, Manic." Sonia snapped, slapping his arm, annoyed. "But Scourge…I thought your father was a baron…"

"Scourge, have you been telling people lies AGAIN?" Rogue suddenly raged, earning in Scourge momentarily searching for a retort but eventually sighed and dejectedly nodded. Rogue sighed. "I have told you not to lie, Scourgey boy. Your repetitive actions of lying about your family makes me wonder if you actually hate me that much."

"All that doesn't matter!" Quinn interrupted. "Is…?"

"Yeah, he's OK, thank the lord…" Quinn's panic quickly deflated.

"W-What exactly happened…? Your call was really panicked…"

"Me and Manic were with him. Nothing really seemed odd…b-but the machine suddenly flatlined…we panicked…luckily the doctors managed to save his life."

"So, he's alright?"

"Y-Yeah, we think so. They've stepped up observation though…there's always a nurse or doctor in the room at all times. You can see him if you want." She gestured to the room. He went in there without a second thought. He did see a female nurse leaning against the wall, mug on a table which clearly had coffee or tea in it with the faint steam rising from it. She nodded a hello. He looked over at his friend. Truth be told, the machines hadn't changed from the last time he had come on Thursday but that didn't take away the painful reality that this was his best friend lying in front of him; senseless. He sat on the chair and, after a nervous few seconds, interlocked his hand with Sonic's. The skin was cold. The last thing he wanted to do was cry, which he kind of wanted to, especially with someone in the room but he couldn't help himself. It wasn't _right._ This shouldn't have happened in the first place. The only thing he could do is be there for him like any friend would.

He froze and looked down. He had felt movement in his hand, a sudden twitch. He had heard stories that comatose patients' muscles sometimes flexed when they were in this state so it didn't get his hopes up. On a reflex, he squeezed back, only for the flex to come again but this time tighter. His fingers were slowly moving on their own, almost as if he was trying to sense what he was feeling.

"It's me, Sonic." He whispered, a small smile creeping along his face as hope filled him. "It's Quinn. It's only me." As soon as he said his name, Sonic's ear flicked slightly and, after another few minutes, his eyelids also flickered but they failed to fully open. The nurse noticed and went out of the room to get the others. Quinn gently shushed him and clasped his hand around Sonic's wrist and the other stroked his shoulder. A slurred and high-pitched whimper came from his throat, earning in Quinn shushing him more in a comforting way.

"Quinn!" He looked around to see everyone crowding around the door. Manic was the one who said it.

"It'll be best if he sees me first. Give me a few minutes more."

"But…!"

"That's fine. It might not scare Sonny that much. The last thing we need is us all crowding around him." Chuck agreed, herding everyone away from the open door. Quinn turned back to Sonic, shaking his head. A sudden harsh squeeze came then, almost in pain as well as a sudden gasp.

"It's alright, it's going to hurt. Just breathe. Everything's OK." He seemed to calm down then. Sonic's eyes then slightly opened, blank emerald irises now visible. They took a while to look up at Quinn in confusion. He quickly recognised him though and he weakly smiled. More tears fell down Quinn's face but they were joyous. "Hey, you." Sonic's innocent smile widened. He mouthed Quinn's name but it came out as a raspy gasp. "Don't talk, you're still too weak. Just try and rest for me, OK?" He got a nod but he was still smiling. It quickly fell as he silently looked around, now realizing he was in a hospital room, the one place he hated more than any other, and that caused panic, evident by his fast breaths and wild eyes. "Hey, hey! It's alright! Try not to panic! Everything's OK, Sonic, nobody is going to hurt you." He eventually managed to calm the hedgehog down but his eyes flickered closed again as he lost consciousness. Quinn smiled and stood. "You rest. I'll be back soon, OK?" He left the room. Sonia and Manic tried going in but Quinn blocked them. "He needs to rest. He can't stay awake for long."

"O-Okay…"

"Oh, and Scourge?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"I…I would tell Sonic your little secret when he's strong enough to take it, OK?"

"Right, I'll do that."

XO

"OK…so HOW are you gonna tell Knux, Julie?"

"I…I don't know…!"

"Something wrong, girls?" Julie froze. In front of her was the Citizenship teacher, Mr. Luger, who also happened to be her father. She withered uncomfortably.

"Nothing fa…sir." She corrected. Luger shook his head and placed both hands on her shoulders.

"Don't give me nothing. I know when something is up." Julie bit her lip.

"I…I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll hate me and it'll cause war between us and the Brotherhood and…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, sweetheart, slow down for me, eh? What are you so panicked about?"

Julie looked at Relic, who nodded.

"I…I'm pregnant."

Silence. Luger's face went sheet white.

"W-W-What…?"

"She's around 7 weeks pregnant, sir. She only found out this morning." Relic intervened but got a signal to shut up. Luger looked hard at his daughter.

"Is this boyfriend of yours the father?"

"Yes…"

"You don't sound certain."

"He's the only one it COULD be, father! Oh god, what do I do…!?" Luger was silent but harshly grabbed her hand and dragged her off. He stopped for one second and turned to the pika.

"Don't follow, hear me Relic?" He warned, disappearing. Relic nodded and was worried but she did what she was told and left. Luger had taken Julie to the main hall where the pre-juniors were still congregated. He saw Knuckles with Espio, Rob and Dive. "Excuse me, Knuckles. A word if you please."

"Uh-oh…you're in trouble, Knux." Rob taunted, getting a growl.

"Don't assume." He did as he was told. When he saw Julie crying, he realized this was serious. "W-What's going on, sir?"

"You have the nerve to get my daughter PREGNANT!?" Knuckles went white and looked at Julie.

"Y-Y-You're what…?"

"Pregnant…7 weeks…" Julie mumbled. "Dad found out before you did…I-I'm sorry."

"Who found out first doesn't matter." Luger raged, thrusting a finger in Knuckles' face, making him nervously sweat. "Did I not give you a warning about not letting this happen under ANY circumstances!? What would your parents think!? I know they think little of my girl but…!"

"Now, hang on one second! This is a mistake! Sure, I was drunk and all but I…I used protection and everything. Honest! T-This is all one big mistake!"

"It's true, Father…we both did…and Knux is right, this wasn't planned…"

"Then HOW in this earth are you PREGNANT!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Julie shouted. "One thing's for sure, I'm having this baby because the war between the Dark Legion and the Brotherhood has to stop! I'm not aborting under any circumstances!" Luger blinked before growling.

"You're going to go the same way as your mother. Ironic, really. Killing yourself the same way you killed her."

"Mother died 17 years ago, father! Why do you think Lien and Kragok hate me so much!? She was their stepmother and I'm always the one to blame for her dying in childbirth! I can't take the hate anymore father! Stay out of my fucking life!" She ran off in tears with Knuckles following. Luger found himself feeling almost guilty. Key word being almost.

"Slut…" He muttered.

XO

"Mr. Robotnik, sir!"

"What is it, Zonic?"

"Am I allowed to enter?"

"If you must." Zonic opened the doors to Ivo's office and saluted. "I've told you not to do that." Zonic rolled his eyes behind his helmet's visor. He looked almost identical to Sonic except for his longer quills, pointer ears, darker eyes and his attitude problem.

"We've found an inactivated bomb in Room 103 in the freshmen tower."

"What!? Are you saying it is a freshman pulling these terrorist stunts!?"

"It's not confirmed but it's possible…"

"Bring all 4 members of that room here, now."

"That won't be necessary, sire. We have already found the recipient of the bomb placement."

"Have you now? Who?"

"Bean. Bean the "Dynamite" Duck."

XO

"I'm innocent! I'm telling you!" Bean shouted, as Zonic and Ivo circled him menacingly. "You lock that dark hedgehog boy up but don't think he's responsible but you immediately suspect me? I'm being framed, I tell you! Please, you have to believe me! I don't have access to the pre-junior tower anyway!"

"You are aware there is a secret entrance, right?"

"S-Secret entrance…? What…is that?" Zonic looked at Ivo.

"We're not getting anywhere, sir."

"Lock him up with Mephiles. We'll interrogate them both later."

"Is that wise?"

"Don't know. It's worth a shot." Zonic nodded, grabbed Bean's collar and pushed him into the old classroom and locked the door again before Bean had a chance to run out.

"Oh, come on! This is imprisonment!"

"Welcome to the club." Bean whirled around to see Mephiles standing there, munching an apple. "Hi."

"Don't you come anywhere near me! I know you did this!"

"Oh, did I now? How? Room's locked, buddy."

"Your shadow ability?"

"Can't go through walls." It could.

"W-Well…oh, shoot…but it wasn't me! I know it wasn't me!"

"Apart from your ability to form bombs? Something tells me you have a few screws loose, mate. Wait until Zonic hears about that. You'll be labelled guilty for sure. I don't bloody care. Everyone will know you did it and I'll be in the clear."

"You…you DID do it!"

"Guilty as charged. Rappelled from the window. Classic framing job. I was sure they wouldn't trust a freshman and, guess what, I was right on the money."

"You're already on bail, y'know. Did you know you DIDN'T kill that...blue…hedgehog, was it?"

"What? Sonic?" He burst out laughing. "Couldn't care less if he lived or died. He's a monster destined to die a lonely, miserable death. The slower the better."

"Oh, and another thing. He woke up from his coma today. Heard from Shadow and Bark."

Mephiles was silent.

"…That quick?"

"You sound surprised."

"Huh…I know the length of comas vary person to person but I was betting on 2 weeks minimum but 5 days!? I underestimated him it seems…"

"How inhumane can you get!? He started a week last Sunday! Not even 2 weeks into term and you pull all this crap!? You're no better than Liza."

"Liza?"

"Espio's sister. Bullies Shadow's sister, Maria. Both of you are little bastards and bitches."

"Alright, alright, what's with the shouting, boys." It was Zonic. He was holding something in his hand. "Thanks for the testimony, Meph."

"What?" Zonic clicked the box in his hand.

"… _You'll be labelled guilty for sure. I don't bloody care. Everyone will know you did it and I'll be in the clear."_

" _You…you DID do it!"_

" _Guilty as charged. Rappelled from the window. Classic framing job. I was sure they wouldn't trust a freshman and, guess what, I was right on the money."_

"Locking Bean in here was the catalyst for you confessing. I love this job sometimes."

"Y-Y-You…you WHAT!?" He went white when he saw the policemen behind the officer. "Oh crumbs." The two policemen hauled Mephiles away while Zonic watched with a smirk.

"He got what was coming to him." He turned to Bean. "I'm very sorry for all this, kid."

"It's alright. I mean, the truth has been exposed, right?"

"Right." Bean nodded and left. Zonic sighed.

"What a long and tiring day…"

" _Look at you, trying to be the hero."_

Zonic froze and whipped around. He could make out the ghostly form of a female lynx, younger than him by one year (she looked around 21), with black hair, glasses on and she wore a white blouse, black skirt and black loafers. Her smile was devilish. Sweat ran down Zonic's face.

"N-N-Nikki…"

" _What happened to "hello, babe"?"_

"S-Shut up…"

" _Come on, Zonic honey, show a smile. You've done a great job today…pity it won't make me forgive you…"_

"L-Leave me alone, Nik…you're not real…you're dead…"

" _Is that now sinking in, big boy? The fact I've been dead for 5 years now?"_

"It's your own fault I cheated! You were never there for me! You were always studying to become top, top, top! Genius earned in your grave so leave me alone!" There was silence as Nikki's form changed…for the worst. Her teal eyes became blank, blood now dripping from his neck and mouth like the students in her year had found her. A rope appeared around her throat and disappeared into the ceiling.

" _Oh Zonic honey…can you feel my pain caused by your words? Can you see it yet?_ " Her feet lifted off the ground and choking and gargling noises, the sound of someone suffocating, as well as a nasty ear-splitting laugh entered Zonic's ears, loud and painful until he screamed and ran off towards the exit, ears covered with his hands but he then turned back, only to find the ghost girl gone but he could still hear her echoing voice that sent shivers down his usually-unshakable spine.

 _See you tomorrow, Zonic honey._

The first place Zonic ran with Zouge's office, running in and slamming the door, huffing and hyperventilating.

"Who is…?" Zouge came out of a side room and blinked blankly. "Zonic…?" She bit her lip. "You saw her again, didn't you?" Zonic silently nodded, trying to regain his cool. Zouge placed a hand on his trembling shoulder. "It's alright, she's gone now."

"When is she going to leave me alone?" His voice was raspy. "I mean…it's been 5 years now since she…since she died and all…b-but I would have thought she would have…I don't know…moved on already." He sank into a ball, not crying but he was badly shaking. Zouge sat next to him, wrapping one arm around his shivering body. "I can't be hallucinating her…can I?"

"Has anyone else seen her?"

"No…not to my knowledge…maybe her sister could see her…"

"That wouldn't be wise. Nicole is struggling enough at the moment as is. Seeing a ghost of her dead sister wouldn't help things in the slightest."

"…I suppose not."

"Can you show me where you saw her?"

"U-Uh…yeah, let me show you." He led the bat to where he had been. There was no sign of the ghost, no sounds either. "Here…it was here…"

"Have you ever only seen her here?"

"No, I've seen her all over campus…first time this term though. She always shows up when I've accomplished something, almost to rain on my parade."

" _Look who it is…the little batty whore."_

Zonic jumped a mile. He noticed Zouge had turned around.

"You heard it, right?"

"Yep, definitely Nikki's voice." She then saw Nikki's ghostly form, her smile slightly friendlier than before but her eyes were bright with mischief.

" _Back for more torment, Zonic honey?"_

"No, I wanted to see you for myself." Zouge interrupted, surprisingly cool and collected. Nikki showed slight surprise.

" _Oh, look at you! Not scared of me in the slightest! Tee hee, what a brave personality you have, Rouge."_

"Zouge. Rouge is my sister. Come on, are we that identical?"

" _Oh, NOW I get it. She has teal eyeshadow, you have pink…I was also wondering about the tardy look but hey ho, now I get it."_

"I get why you're tormenting Zonic, Nikki. It's obvious. What will it take for you to move on?"

" _Move on? Why would I want to move on?"_ She chuckled, floating now as if she was lounging in a hammock, her smile wide with glee. _"Zonic is not the only person I want vengeance against. Nazo, Isabella, Luger, Rosemary, Amadeus, Tundra…"_

"Rosemary doesn't work here anymore!"

" _Liar, I know she's on the council. I pay them visits too, I tell them what to do. Why is Nazo so mean to that Mephiles guy? Why is Isabella so over-protective of her daughter? Why does Rosemary and Amadeus not want anything to do with her sons? Why does Luger hate his daughter? Same goes with Tundra and his two twins. It's all because of my manipulations, sweetie."_

"So…you're the reason the two Prowers are in care. You're the reason Mina has a tracker. You're the reason Nazo is so strict. You're the reason Rotor and Boomer have no access to their only surviving relative and you're the reason Julie and Luger have practically no relationship."

" _Bingo. And I'm the reason Zonic is petrified of ghosts. Also…who do you think manipulated Mephiles to attack that blue hedgehog…oh, what was his name…? Oh, Sonic."_

"It was you! You're the reason Mephiles hated Sonic in the first place." Zonic butted in, fists clenched. Nikki just laughed.

" _Got it in one, Zonic honey. Y'see, Bernadette has a younger sister who happens to work here on the council. Aki. Yes, it's Japanese. And Bernadette has a son. What pain it would cause if he suddenly died. Pain would radiate throughout the entire family. Once I get vengeance on these people, I can move on…as long as Nicole wishes me to disappear. I've watched her suffer. She longs for me to be alive and, alias, that is one thing I can no longer do…being there for her, like a calming influence. Please go. I have had enough to talking."_ She disappeared. Zonic gulped.

"Wait until Quinn gets a load of this."

"We have to do something. She's trying to hurt other people for revenge for them hurting her…but by doing that, she's threatening many of our students directly or indirectly. I want you to gather the following students: Tails, Miles, Mina, Julie, Knuckles, Rotor, Boomer, Quinn and Nicole."

"Why Nicole? You said…"

"I know. Her fear is what is helping her sister. We need her."

"OK, OK! I'll go get them…"

XO

"Why is she not picking up!? I should have never agreed to her going out shopping alone with that psycho bitch…" Shadow groaned, trying to ring his sister with no such luck.

"What's up?" He turned to see Scourge, who had left the hospital for some fresh air and had seen Shadow pacing nervously.

"Maria. She's hanging out with Liza, Cream and Cosmo and I'm a little scared for her safety." He put his phone away and looked hard at Scourge. "How's Blue?"

"He's woken up…but he's still drifting in and out right now."

"R-Right. That's some good news at least."

"Tell me about it." The conversation could have gone further when a scream came from further up the street. A young girl. Someone came running out of one of the streets and saw the two and immediately headed over, gasping for air. Rabbit. Cream. "What's this little bunny-wunny doing here?"

"Lay off. That's my sister's learning buddy you're talking to."

"Oh, saw-ree!"

"What's wrong, Cream? Was that your scream?" The rabbit nodded, flicking her bronze hair out of her face. She didn't have much when she was younger but now she looked like her mother with longer ears, hair pinned into a cute bun and she wore an orange vest top, matching shorts and shoes and small cuffed gloves. She had a handbag shaped like a normal Chao. She was crying.

"I-It…Maria…she…" She couldn't form words. Shadow flinched at his sister's name and grabbed the girl's shoulders.

"What happened?" He hissed, fearing what she would say. Cream could only make gaping sounds, no voice came out. Eventually, she swallowed and whispered a few words.

"Liza…she hurt her."

"Where!? How bad!?" Cream jumped at the panic in the junior's tone but twiddled her fingers.

"I…I ran…I didn't see."

"Show me where." Shadow was surprised when Cream grabbed his hand and ran back down the street, leaving Scourge a little stunned.

"Um…OK…" As he went back up to the hospital, Shadow and Cream were nearing the place Cream was leading the hedgehog too. As they stopped, Shadow's face went sheet white. Lying on the pavement, bloodied and beaten, was Maria. After finding himself frozen for several seconds, he rushed forward and gently cradled his sister in his arms, broken tears escaping down his cheeks. He growled, picked her up and sped away, heading straight for the hospital with Cream following. He was going to kill that chameleon when he next saw her, no doubt about it, but his priority was making sure Maria was going to be OK. Her wounds looked severe, no air escaping her slightly-open mouth and her pulse was weak. When the doctors saw her, they too went white and immediately took over, wheeling her straight into A&E. Shadow's legs gave way as terror gripped his heart. He remembered his mother had died in a similar fashion; haven't died when he was only 8 years old after burglars had burst into their house and had killed her when she tried to defend him and Maria, who was only 4 at the time. All his senses dulled down as everything blurred around him. All this highly alerted Cream as she looked worried.

"Shadow!?" Cream's voice made him jump as she wrapped her arms around his form. He shook her off. It was too choking, too sweet, like being squashed by a marshmallow. Cream was surprised by how much the junior was shaking and how much terror and horror was shining in his crimson eyes. They were almost glazed, not entirely focusing on anything in particular. She guessed seeing his sister like that had triggered some sort of catatonic shock. She could faintly see dried blood on his gloves from Maria's body. She touched his shoulder in comfort. Just that caused a weak-filled yell to come from the ebony hedgehog, one that was so unnatural and made Cream jump back.

"Hey Cream! What…?" It was Manic. He too looked highly concerned when he saw Shadow. "W-What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know…he's not talking." She was about to explain what happened but Manic then took over, shushing his friend and wrapping his arms around him before she had a chance. Unlike with Cream, Shadow didn't force him off. He rested his head on his shoulder and started sobbing.

"Come on, Shadz…talk to me…this isn't like you. What's wrong?" He was speaking gently. After a few minutes of pure silence, Shadow managed to muster enough courage to speak.

"M-Maria…s-she…s-she got attacked…" He managed to croak, voice broken. Manic bit his lip. He knew how much his sister meant to him.

"She'll be fine. Honestly, I know the feeling…the feeling you get when you think you're about to lose someone close to you." Shadow had to admit, Manic had a point. He and Sonia would have felt the same thing when they learnt of Mephiles' assault on Sonic. He eventually found the ability to get a grip of him and wiped his face furiously. He then went into the male bathroom, probably to sort himself out. He came out 5 minutes later with one major different: his gloves were gone. The only thing on his hands and wrists now were his Inhibitor Rings, and they looked really out of place without his usual attire. "Did you have to throw them away?"

"They would have gotten stained…best I just throw them away. Dad can get me some new ones." He clicked and pulled his phone and went outside to ring his father, returning a few minutes later, sighing and almost in tears again. "Hardest phone call I've ever had to do."

"Is he on his way?"

"In about 15 minutes, yeah…we live quite away from the city."

"I was going to check up on Sonic. Want to come?"

"Go on then…I probably won't be able to see Maria yet so…I guess it's a good idea."

"Can I come too?" Cream innocently asked. Manic nodded. After that, he led Shadow and Cream to where Sonic was, slightly awake and was sitting up, revealing the chest bandages and neck

"Scourge probably told you but he's still…" Manic got interrupted.

"Drifting in and out of consciousness…yeah, he said. Is he talking yet?"

"A little bit…talking exhausts him after a while." He explained.

"Can I have a minute alone with him?" Manic nodded and left. Cream decided to wait outside the room politely. As Shadow entered the room, gently knocking, Sonic's eyes shot in that direction, surprised. "Hey, Blue." He softly spoke, sitting down. A hoarse chuckle came from Sonic.

"H-Hey Shadz." With every word, his breathing became laboured, almost like the energy it took to converse made him out of breath. Shadow guessed it put a lot of strain on his lungs and damaged neck. He saw the bare hands and pointed. Shadow bit his lip.

"You know Liza, right?" A nod. "She hates my sister, Maria. She got attacked…similarly to you." Alarm rose in Sonic's eyes and, for a brief moment, Shadow feared he had triggered trauma or a flashback, but it was at the news of Maria.

"I-Is she OK?"

"I…I don't know yet…" He noticed Sonic's eyes were flickering closed. Smiling, he patted his shoulder and decided to let him rest. As he left, a figure barrelled into him, someone who was much taller. He was a 50-something grey hedgehog with black eyes, dark glasses and wore a faded lab coat.

 _I've told him NOT to wear that in public…_

"Maria…h-have you heard anything!? Well!?" This panicked hedgehog was Gerald, his father. Shadow shook his head but Gerald squeezed him hard. "Did you get hurt as well!?"

"No…no I wasn't there…Cream and Cosmo were there though and Liza was behind all this…"

"Um…I am right here, you know." Cream playfully scorned, standing and nodding in greeting. "I'm Cream, sir."

"Please, Gerald. Are you in Maria's year?"

"Yes. I'm her buddy."

"Oh, I see. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well…it was all fine at first…laughing, eating candy and whatnot. Liza was being a bit bossy but she was being well-mannered. When we got to one of the street crossings, Maria mentioned about you being worried about finding out that her telescope was different and…well…Liza beat her. Badly. Cosmo left immediately and when I did, I found Shadow and we got her here."

"Telescope…? The telescope I made for her!? This Liza girl…did she break it?"

"On Tuesday, yes."

"I shall have to have a word with the headmaster."

"Excuse me, you lot…which one of you is Shadow?"

"Me." Shadow pushed forward. "Is it Maria!? Is she OK!?"

"You need to follow me."

Shadow gulped and followed, not looking forward to whatever news he was going to be given.

XO

 **Pairings:**

 **Julie-Su and Knuckles (DATING – JULIE IS PREGNANT)**

 **Zonic and Nikki (…UH, WHAT?)**

 **XO**

 **Next time:**

 **A sudden…ahem…lusty video is posted online!**

 **Chemistry chaos with explosive results!**

 **A secret love affair is afoot…?**

 **Relic and Sequin corner Shahra and Merlina!**

… **RIP Maria Robotnik?**

 **XO**

 **A/N: Apologies for the 2 month long delay yet again. I've got A-Level work to do as well as other stories to update. One of my other usernames is going to be undertaking a huge project soon, so updates might get even more infrequent. Apologies again!**


	9. A Day of Darkness

**Chapter contains swearing, violence, sexual themes, blackmail, some blood, teenage pregnancy and mentions of rape.**

 **Oh…and one other theme that I'm gonna keep secret.**

 **Infinite's "real name", Zero, was his name during development.**

 **Again, sorry for the long delays between updates. I had A-Level work AND revision to do over Christmas as well as mock exams, cut me some slack! I couldn't let my stories revolve around me then. Apologies again everyone.**

 **Also, because I haven't updated in a while, have a longer chapter! Yay! I like being generous!**

 **XO**

 _ **Chapter 9: A Day of Darkness**_

"Julie!" Knuckles yelled, running after his girlfriend. Ever since Sunday, after he had "expressed desire" to comply with Luger's demands, Julie had been giving him the silent treatment. Now, however, now that it was Thursday, he wanted it to end. "Julie, please! Talk to me!"

"Why!?" She snapped, anger flashing in her lilac eyes.

"Look, I know you're still sore from all that stuff yesterday…honestly, I know." He stepped forward but Julie slinked away from him, trembling in rage.

"No you don't! I don't care what you say, I'm not getting rid of this baby! He's my dad's grandchild! How can he just say "get rid of it" like that!? How can YOU go along with that!?" She was about to burst into tears, evident by her face growing scarlet and the moist sparkles in the corners of her eyes. Knuckles bit his lip hard.

"I never said anything along those lines, did I?" Julie seemed to calm down, faintly shrugging. "No, I didn't think so. I'm not as emotionless and abusive as your own father. No offense."

"None taken."

"Look, I hate to seem I'm against this, which I'm not, but is having a baby more important than having a strong relationship with your dad? I get that Lien and Kragok are out-of-the-picture but Luger is the only parental figure you have, Julie."

"He's NOT a dad to me, Knux!" Julie bit back, tensing up. "He can rot in hell for all I care."

"Julie…parents are precious, no matter how mean they can seem. I mean, look at my dad. Stern, sometimes hits but he still loves me. Same with Mum. She hasn't been in my life until recently, even if she has remarried. They both love me. I'm sure, deep down, Luger loves you. You _are_ his daughter."

"A disappointing daughter." Came a depressed reply.

"No, you're not." Knuckles walked forward and brought Julie in for a comforting hug. "I fell in love with you for a reason, Julie…you're special to me and you always will be." He noticed a smile crossed the female echidna's face as she released herself from the hug and smiled a nervous yet genuine smile.

"…Thanks Knux…I appreciate it. I just need to talk to dad."

"You sure you want to?"

"That conversation yesterday ended with me screaming like a banshee. I need to stand my ground and show him how much this baby means to me!"

"No need. I heard it all." Julie jumped and saw her father leaning against the wall a few feet from them, not particularly happy. Julie shivered and struggled to find any words. Sure, she was going to speak to him, but since he had heard everything, it made it 10 times as tricky.

"F-Father…listen."

"No. Don't talk anymore. I heard it all, Julie."

"…" Julie suddenly felt a cold feeling seep into her body.

"Sir, Julie is your daughter, no matter what happens. I'm sorry you lost your wife, but Julie wasn't to blame." Knuckles foolishly spoke, earning in a dark glare from Luger.

"If Mari hadn't gotten pregnant, she'd still be alive!" He walked menacingly towards his daughter, but she stood her ground. "Julie's sheer existence contributed to her bleeding to death, Guardian. Every time I look at her, I see Mari. It tortures me! Julie killed her, that's all there is to it! I'm not gonna stand for this interblood child. He or she will never be able to live without war. In actual fact, I might get rid of him or her now!" Without any warning, a flash of silver struck across Julie's body, blood splurging from her stomach as she reeled back. Her legs caved in as she crumpled. Knuckles was as white as a ghost.

"JULIE!" He screamed, kneeling to cradle his girlfriend. He looked up to Luger in both confusion and hatred. "S-She's your daughter…with YOUR grandchild!"

"She's no daughter of mine." Luger spat. "That "child" is an abomination; a monster; an interblood. Do what you wish and DON'T let me catch you with a bump, Julie or I WILL take action." He left then, throwing the bloodied knife aside almost in boredom. Knuckles was trying to keep Julie awake but froze when her eyes fluttered closed.

"J-Julie…w-w-wake up…please!" He begged, gently shaking her. When he got nothing, he cupped his mouth in horror and brought her up for a hug, tears seeping down his face, which was rare for someone as tough as him. He began mumbling to himself. "Oh, Julie, I'm so sorry…I'll protect you…a-always."

"K-Knuckles…!" He turned to see Relic, face pale. "I-Is she alright!?"

"I-I don't know...we need to get her to a hospital. Now!" Relic nodded at this as Knuckles started trying to stem the blood flow. Relic fumbled for her phone and started calling an ambulance.

XO

"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on!? Why did you assemble us?" Boomer demanded to Zouge and Zonic. Both of them flinched at the Junior's harsh tone.

"Mainly because we need to talk to you about very important matters."

"Zonic's right. You might not be consciously aware of what is going on but you've all been affected. You all remember a student 5 years ago called Nicola Ellidy, correct?" Everyone nodded. "Thought so. I shall start this meeting by saying she is still here in ghost form, tormenting all of you one by one, causing you to suffer. However, you aren't to blame. Nikki is taking her anger out on your parents and loved ones. Miles…Tails…both your parents were seniors when Nikki died in her second year, correct?" The twin foxes nodded.

"Yeah, they married not long after they graduated…but what has that got to do with us?"

"It's pretty obvious, squirt. Nikki forced our parents to not only split up…but also abandon us." Miles cut in, rolling at his brother's ridiculous question. He only sighed.

"Correct, Miles. She wanted them to think you would cause them pain. She forged papers and snatched you away. They lost you…until this year. Amadeus is a Self-Defense teacher here; Rosemary being on the School Council alongside several others." The two looked at each other in surprise. They had seen Amadeus around school (since Self-Defense had been cancelled) but they hadn't figured out the relation. "There is one in particular. A girl called Aki Hoshimura."

"Never heard of her." Mina mentioned.

"She has one remaining relative; an estranged sister by the name of Bernadette Hedgehog, who is the English Language teacher here. Bernadette has two sons: Ashura and Sonic."

"S-Sonic…? He fits into all this?" Tails exclaimed in shock. Everyone remembered what had happened earlier that week with Mephiles. Maybe there was an actual reason to Mephiles's change in behaviour? Zouge nodded.

"Yeah. Killing him would destroy Aki's entire family. She was one of Nikki's many bullies alongside Nazo, Tundra and Isabella. I'm guessing she is the reason Mephiles's behaviour changed."

"So…it wasn't completely Meph's fault." Mina shuddered but Boomer growled.

"Oh, please…we're feeling sorry for HIM!?"

"I'm not finished. She did a similar thing with your father: Tundra. He stole his sons away, though his icy heart has not thawed since. On a psychological level, his heart is blocking the love and attention you two want. Am I right, boys?"

"I guess so."

"Couldn't care less. Father never wanted us in the first place." Rotor stared in shock at his brother but Boomer turned away from his sibling's dark glance.

"Mina, your tracker. Nikki threatened your life, so Isabella has become increasingly paranoid about both your whereabouts and who you hang out with. You mean a lot to her." Mina nodded at this, looking at the tracker latched permanently around her wrist.

"I…suppose that makes a lot of sense with Dad not in the picture."

"Arthur, I presume? I believe he's also on the council?" Zonic asked and Mina nodded in confirmation.

"He has been for many years, though he and Mum don't speak anymore."

"And that leaves you, Nicole." Nicole shook when Zouge addressed her. Her shaking hand pointed at herself.

"M-M-Me…?"

"Yes, you. She still cares about you. A lot. After all, you're her younger sister, suffering the exact cruelty she had to endure. She can't move on until she's 100% certain you're both happy and safe from harm."

"So…when Shade bullies me…it keeps her locked in school grounds."

"Yes." Before any more could be said, Zonic's mobile suddenly rang loudly. Zouge shot a glare at him. "Zonic, turn your phone off!"

"It's Ivo." He said, getting a slight eye-roll. Zonic answered the call. "Yes?"

"Honestly…! Sorry, you lot." Zouge apologised, getting shrugs and looks that suggested they didn't really mind.

"Y-You're kidding me, right? Who was involved?!" Zonic's voice had gone high with alarm, alerting all in the room.

"This…not good." Tails muttered.

"Zonic? You alright?" Zouge asked. Zonic put up one finger.

"One mo." He mouthed. "Yeah…OK…I'll go collect him. Thanks Ivo." He disconnected. "Sorry, duty calls. I'm sorry." He ran off, leaving a dejected Zouge who loudly groaned.

"Ugh…this was for you, you idiot!"

"I'm guessing Nikki is tormenting Zonic because he cheated on her?" Rotor guessed. Zouge sighed and nodded.

"Yes. She scares the living daylights out of him…hang on, where is Julie and Knuckles?"

"I don't know…but Relic was telling me something about an attack." Mina answered, earning in Zouge tapping her foot.

"Oh boy…"

XO

Quinn had decided to see how Sonic was doing. It had taken a few days for Sonic to regain strength, as it was only yesterday when he was able to stay awake for more than a few minutes. Now, he was awake most of the time, even if he was still a bit on the quiet side. As he peered into his friend's room, he looked asleep, but he was badly wiggling and slurred panicked groans were escaping his mouth. Alarmed, Quinn was quick to comfort him, gently shaking Sonic awake as his eyes shot open with a wild fire blazing in them. He looked at Quinn and instantly relaxed.

"Shush now…try and relax Sonic." Quinn whispered, smiling. He helped Sonic sit up a bit, as the doctors had already permitted it. "You feeling alright?" Sonic nodded but shuddered.

"It hurts…" His voice was barely a whisper, broken with terror. Quinn guessed he had a nightmare, which wasn't good for his state of mind alongside his IV showed his morphine intake was getting low. He made a mental note to alert a nurse of that.

"I know, it will do." He was silent for a brief minute. He dreaded to think what the dream was about. "Do you…remember what actually happened?" Luckily for Quinn, Sonic shook his head slowly. "Thought not. I'll tell you another time because it's…well…it's complicated." Before Sonic could protest, he and Quinn saw Cream lingering around the doorway, looking slightly concerned.

"He alright?"

"Oh, hey Cream. Yeah, he's awake for longer, so he's getting stronger. He's still in quite a bit of pain."

"Thought so. Have you seen Shadow anywhere?"

"No, why?" Cream sighed and placed both hands on her hips.

"He's been avoiding the hospital all week...but Ken said he was here today so I've been looking for him."

"Oh, so that's why you're here." Cream then nodded and sheepishly chuckled.

"Can I…I don't know…say hi?"

"Sure, come on in. Careful though." Nodding, Cream fully entered the room. She could see Sonic looking at her with intrigue. He actually looked slightly afraid of her.

"Hi, Sonic. I'm Cream, I've just joined NMA." That put him at ease. He noticed the dark gold band around her arm. The gold that signified first-years.

"I could tell by the…by the band." He froze when he felt Cream hug him. She smelt like chocolate, and her embrace was sweet too. He flinched. "H-Huh?" He noticed Quinn snigger to himself, though he stopped when Sonic threw him a confused look.

"Just thought you needed a hug. I'm that kind of person." Sonic had to smile at that. He tried hugging Cream back, but his arms felt like lead.

"Cream…you're sweet." He managed to whisper. She was starting to make him nervous.

"So are you. I best go find Shadow. I'll see you two around." She nodded and left the room.

"Yeah, will do." Quinn called back and then turned to his friend. "I'll leave you to rest, OK? You can get your strength back faster that way." As he turned to leave, he heard Sonic's voice.

"Q-Quinn…?"

"Yeah, what is it?" He turned back and his grin quickly disappeared. His friend looked panicked, hands in trembling fists as they gripped the bed sheets in anxiety. "W-What's wrong!?"

"C-Can't move…my legs…I-I can't…"

Quinn bit his lip. This wasn't good.

"Hang on a minute." He ran out of the room, leaving Sonic alone with swirling and horrifying thoughts. He knew getting riled up wasn't going to help him so he tried thinking of comforting words. Words that tried to build up courage.

 _It's OK, Sonic…it's OK…you're fine. You have to be! You're Sonic T. Hedgehog for cryin' out loud! No way has anyone got anything on you._

"I'm back." Quinn's voice snapped Sonic back to reality. He had a nurse with him: a cyan fox. She looked surprisingly calm about the whole thing, so Sonic relaxed immensely. If a doctor was calm, nothing bad had happened.

"We're going to do some tests, alright Sonic? It is Sonic, isn't it?" Sonic nodded at the nurse's question.

"Y-Yeah…yeah it is." He noticed he was badly shaking. Quinn sat on a chair near the bed and clasped Sonic's hand.

"It's alright. I'm here. We'll find out what's wrong together, OK?"

"O-OK…"

"What I'm going to do is do some sensory touch tests. Let's start with your arms." She prodded his skin. "Feel me?"

"Yeah, very much." He omitted his desire to express pain towards her "tests".

"How about your stomach…?" The prods this time weren't painful but ticklish as he wiggled her hands off his fur, clearly in hysterics.

"Hah! Don't!"

"Sorry, didn't realize you were ticklish." Sonic managed to catch his breath as the hysterical spell dispersed. "Let's try your hips…feel that?"

Sonic frowned. Like his stomach, contact with his hips also made him laugh, but it felt like he was being touched with cobwebs and even then, he only got a small tickly twinge. He faintly nodded.

"A…A little bit…" Quinn sensed something was off and tightened his grip on Sonic's hand.

"Bit further down…how about now?"

Now Quinn knew something was definitely wrong. Sonic said nothing, peering below the sheets to check he was being touched. He seemed unaware of the prods this time.

"Sonic…you can…feel that, right?" Quinn stuttered, confused.

"Feel what?" Came a surprised reply, taking Quinn aback. The nurses stopped her prodding and Sonic freaked out when he saw a small pin in her hand. "D-Don't prick me!"

"Heh, you sure are recovering well." The nurse grinned, obviously amused by his outburst. "Are Sonic's parents here, do you know?" Quinn thought for a second.

"I think they're hanging around." He then reconsidered the question and that set alarm bells ringing. "Why? What's wrong with him?"

"I need to talk with his parents first. Sorry." The nurse went out of the room. Quinn growled to himself and folded his arms.

"I hate that rule so much. It's not fair." He saw Sonic was beginning to freak out major, tears seeping from his eyes as he violently shook. Quinn brought him in for a tight hug, gently shushing him. "Hey, shush now…it's alright, I'm here…I'm here…"

"WHAT!?" Sonic recognised the faint voice of his father. Quinn could instantly tell the resemblance the moment he lay eyes on him, except Jules has a tuft of brown hair on his head and slightly darker fur. "Son!?" His voice sounded closer and he heard rapid footsteps.

"D-Dad…?" Sonic called back, alarmed at his father's tone of voice. Jules appeared in the doorway and rushed to embrace his son. His face was white as a sheet. "Huh…?"

"I-I'm sorry…seriously, I am…" His voice was only a mutter, but all Sonic felt was immense confusion.

"Dad…hang on…what?" Jules let go, now perplexed himself. He blinked blankly.

"S-She…she didn't tell you?" Sonic only blinked at this. "Your legs…" Sonic looked down at his covered legs. He couldn't feel them, but his body seemed to tingle.

"I-I'm numb…?" He guessed, but when Jules shook his head sadly, he gulped, realizing that someone more serious was going on.

"You're not just numb, my boy…when he stabbed you…" Shock ran through Sonic's face. "…oh…Quinn hasn't told you that yet…"

"I was waiting for a better time but oh well." Quinn sighed, but he began explaining. "Remember Mephiles?" A nod. "Well, he…h-he…he attacked you in Self-Defense…pretty badly. You got stabbed in the chest and the neck. He didn't hit any vital organs, thank Aurora for that, but he fractured your spinal cord at the back of your neck. It must have triggered nerve damage." Most of the explanation made zero sense and some words flew over his head. The only bits that seemed to connect were the bandages around his chest and torso that made his lower body horribly tight (the rest of his stomach was covered in machine senses that itched) and the white brace around his neck that also irritated his skin. Other than that, Quinn's explanation only fuelled his shock.

"W-What are you saying…?"

"I think I know what he's getting at. Son…your legs…they don't work anymore. You're…you're paralyzed from the waist down. I wish there's something we can do but there isn't…"

Sonic didn't get it for a moment but when the reality sunk in, he cupped his mouth in horror, a loud scream escaping from his mouth as he broke down into heartbroken tears. Jules was crying as well, and even Quinn couldn't help himself. Jules cuddled him gently, cooing him gently.

"N-No…I-I-I can't…I can't be…" His voice trailed off as he fell limp in his dad's arms. The beeping from the monitor became out of tune.

"Son…?" Jules asked, fearing Sonic had fallen asleep on him. After not getting a response, panic set in as he cried more, frantically shaking his son's arm to try and get something out of him. "Son!? C-Can you hear me!?" Still nothing. Quinn noticed his heart rate was deflating fast. Before he could call for help, two nurses ran in, having heard the noises as they were passing the room.

"Lie him down! It's the panic, his weak heart can't handle it. All of you out, now. Get him to resus!" The two did as they were ordered and exited the room as the nurses wheeled the bed out of the ICU room and into another section of the hospital. Jules shakily sat on a chair, face in his hands, sobbing. Quinn knew Sonic had almost died before when he was a toddler from the fire incident, and the whole stabbing thing did almost kill him again and then came the cardiac arrest. That was 3 near-death experiences with this being the 4th. However, there was the self-harming incident over the summer as well to consider that could have easily ended Sonic's life…which meant Sonic had, in a way, nearly died 5 times in 17 years. Quinn couldn't imagine how much emotional stress his best friend's family had had to endure over the years.

"I should have broken it to him more gently…o-oh God…" He heard Jules fearfully mutter, eyes glazed over from his tears. Quinn sat next to him and tapped his fingers on his lap, trying his hardest to stay positive.

"Jules, he'll be fine. He has to. We had to tell him…!"

"I know but…h-he couldn't take it. Running is his life, Quinn. He's always going on about being in the National Athletic Championships when he's older, which is entirely easy considering his running speed is beyond natural levels but now…now he can't do anything like that. It's crushed him and it'll keep destroying him every day…after what happened over the summer…I don't want to lose my son." Quinn was intrigued by that. The NAC, or the National Athletic Championships, was an annual event for adult athletes. Do well enough and you had a fast-track ticket to the Mobian Olympics. He also knew Jules' fear about Sonic's mental illness. He had seen the scars for himself. He had seen the damage all the bullying, the divorce and the side-effects of his powers had done to him. He had heard Sonic's low opinion of himself. He had seen his friend get stabbed right in front of him. His hands curled into determined fists. He had already said he wasn't going to let Sonic suffer anymore and now he was more determined than ever to keep that promise.

"We'll help him. That's what friends and family do. They support each other." Their conversation was interrupted by one of the two nurses. Jules stood up, hope filling him.

"Is he alright!? Answer me!"

"He's awake …but he hasn't shown any interest in external stimuli." Jules' head tilted to the side.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I think it's the shock. He's retreated inwards, although this is very common." The two exchanged looks before Jules nodded in understanding.

"I thought something like that would happen…thank you." The nurse went off then. Jules then faced Quinn. "Who was that young rabbit girl I saw walking around? She's from NMA as well, isn't she?"

"Oh, Cream? Yeah, she's a first-year. Her friend Maria got attacked also yesterday and she's looking for Shadow."

"Oh yes, Shadow…he's friends with Manic. I'm glad those two are going back to school. They need something to distract them…though I will need to tell them about Sonic's paralysis."

"I'll tell them. I should be in school now, anyway." Quinn stood up and grabbed his rucksack from underneath the chair.

"Alright. I'll…I'll send you any updates." Jules stuttered, going off to find Sonic.

"Sure." Quinn called back, walking in the other direction. As he got to the main foyer, he wiped his eyes.

 _Man, this has got to be the worst school term of my entire life._

He then noticed a familiar figure sitting on a chair, almost asleep. "…Huh? Infinite?!"

"Oh, hi Quinn." Quinn blinked in surprise. Covering Infinite's entire face was a silver metallic mask that also covered his ears. His right eye was covered and the left eye was covered by a transparent red visor. He looked like some supervillain.

"What's with the mask?" He asked. Infinite bit his lip, but the mask covered his mouth so Quinn didn't see it.

"Dad's idea…helps hide my face, even if it makes me look like a villain. Phage has totally destroyed me since that whole thing last week. I've got more scars and wounds than Freddy Kruger." He then looked at Quinn closer. He noticed his aura had again changed and not in a good way. "…Your aura's changed again. It feels…darker than before. Is it because of Sonic…or whatever his name was?"

"Sonic, yeah. He woke up yesterday but he's paralysed from the waist down…he's not talking or responding to anyone." Infinite's amber eye shone with faint shock as he drummed his fingers on the back of the wooden chair.

"I bet anyone in his position would be pretty depressed…I mean, I only have one eye and…"

"That's a really bad and insensitive comparison, y'know!" Quinn scolded, getting a shameful look from the jackal. He sighed to defuse himself. "Where's Gadget? I thought you'd be with him."

"Getting a check-up. Zor is a total ass." Came a snarled reply.

"Zor…? The emo Zeti guy in the 4th year?" Quinn faintly remembered the emo Zeti, who seemed to have a thing for both roses and the supernatural. Needless to say, he was his old school's resident freak.

"Yup. Beat him up. Broke his elbow. Should be out any minute. He told you about our transfer, right?"

"…Transfer? At the end of the month? Ivo mentioned something about new students in Friday's assembly…" Infinite let out a nervous chuckle.

"It's sooner than that. Circumstances changed. Me and some others, including Gadget, are going to be transferring in tomorrow. There's a lot of us, though. At least 40 odd. Don't ask me how or why."

"T-Tomorrow!?"

"Luckily, Zor isn't one of them. Zavok is on the other hand. Zazz too." Quinn knew that Zavok and Zazz were bad news. Zavok was as evil and as villainous as they came and Zazz was widely regarded as the most insane student in the school. NMA was going to become a madhouse within 24 hours.

"You serious? Great…having one Zeti at school is bad enough."

"You have a Zeti?"

"Zeena. Same age as you. Obsessive about make-up and nail art. Not to mention she bullies Mina and Bunker who are both in my year. Having 3 Zeti at NMA is going to be hell on wheels."

"Hey, 'Finny, Quinn!" Infinite cringed at the nickname. Gadget came up to the two, his arm in a sling. The tanned skin around his broken elbow still looked horribly swollen.

"In-fin-ite! How many times!? I don't like abbreviations of my name!" Infinite shouted. The red wolf smirked and shrugged. Quinn noted how similar he and Sonic were.

"Infinite isn't even your real name! It's Zero."

"I like Infinite better."

"Makes you sound like an egomaniac."

"WHY I OUGHTA...!" Infinite roared, now extremely angered. Gadget only laughed in the jackal's face, not fazed in the slightest.

"Hah, I'm only joking."

"One of these days I'm really going to lose it with you!" As the argument continued, Quinn groaned and face-palmed.

 _Ugh, those two are hopeless…_

XO

When you're forced to teach 16 senior girls PE, things are always going to be tense. At the moment, Blade and Buns were rolling around in the mud, grappling each other. Sam reluctantly blew his whistle but neither took much attention to it.

"Ah-ah-ah girls! No fighting! Sheesh!" He shouted. From the side, a dark red echidna called Lien-Da just sighed.

"Leave them, teach. You know how Blade and Buns can be. They're hopeless."

"Yes, but still." He finally had enough and blew the whistle at maximum volume, making both Blade and Buns wither uncomfortably at the harsh sound. "ALRIGHT, KNOCK IT OFF YOU TWO!"

"She started it!" The two screamed in unison, soaking from head to toe in dirt and mud. They looked a mess. Sam rubbed his forehead as it panged from a stress-induced headache.

"I don't care WHO started it, just get yourself up from the mud!" The two complied but they gave each other distinct glares. Next to Lien, a brown-haired chipmunk, Megan, rolled her eyes at the chaos.

"You're right, Lien…they're hopeless." She got a look that said "thank you" in a grateful way. Sam then saw Barby on her mobile. How she snuck in into class was anyone's guess.

"Ah! Barby! No phones in PE, they could get broken!" Barby groaned as she placed it in her short pocket.

"I'm awaiting an important message, though!"

"Important as in from her "boyfriend"." Came a snarl from Breezie.

"Excuse me, but Bill is the one for me."

"What about that wallaby guy? You dated him in junior school, didn't you?" A grey wolf called Lupe wondered. Barby used to like Walt a lot but they had grown apart as they had grown up.

"Sure, but we're just friends, nothing more. Besides, he's a little weird."

"I guess he got friendzoned." Mari-An, another echidna, mused.

"Hang on though…isn't everyone weird in some way?" Buns asked but got quite a few dirty looks.

"AH!" A sudden shriek came from Zeena, who was looking at her hands in a panicked way.

"What, Zeena?" Breezie snarled.

"My nail art's ruined!" Came an upset reply. Breezie's eyes narrowed.

"Seriously, THAT'S what you're worried about? We have corrupt politicians, global warming and exam revision to worry about and you're fussing over some chipped nail paint? What a self-obsessive bitch you are." Zeena may have been a bully herself, but she didn't like it when the tables were turned on her. She just hung her head.

"Breezie! You know how she is! Without perfect make-up, she's super sensitive. Now, go on over there and apologise SINCERELY!" Megan scolded. Breezie got right up in her face, smirking.

"Make me!" The confrontation was about to get physical but Sam blew his whistle again to break up the tension.

"Girls, that's enough! Hall. now. Everyone is going to do push-ups…for the rest of the lesson."

"WHAT?" Everyone screamed. As everyone depressingly trooped to the hall, Dulcy hung back with Mari-An.

"And we didn't even do anything…!" She complained. Mari just shrugged.

"Class punishment means class punishment."

XO

 **LUSTY VIDEO FOUND ON SCHOOL WEBSITE**

 _Last night at roughly midnight, an unknown person uploaded a 5 minute sex video on the New Mobotropolis Academy school website. According to inside sources, the two in the video are currently unknown but are rumoured to be involved in love scandals. Copies of the video are still available for $4._

"How does Rouge get away with writing this crap? I'm pretty sure she faked this thing just to get money." Relic scorned, crumpling up the Gemstone Article, a newspaper published by none other than the school's biggest gossiper Rouge the Bat. Sequin shrugged, obviously not sure.

"With her, you can never tell. This "unknown person" is probably one of her lackeys on the newspaper team."

"Why doesn't Ivo shut the newspaper down? It's not official."

"Beats me." They came to the newspaper club's clubroom and knocked three times on the door.

"Enter." Rouge's voice fluttered through the closed door. The two stormed in, both angry.

"Alright, Rouge, we know you faked that video." Relic raged. Rouge, who was sitting at a table with her feet resting on the tabletop, stood up and held her hands up in defense as she leaned against the table.

"You got me all wrong, hon. I didn't post this. Why would I?"

"For money? Humiliation? Amusement?" Sequin suggested. Rouge's mouth went sideways as she shook her head.

"Look, hon, I report the news. I don't make it. Besides, I don't get much out of it, anyway. If you want to know more, ask Shahra. She was the one who brought it to my attention this morning. Do you want a copy, though?" She held out a plastic DVD case. The two exchanged disgusted glances.

"Heck no! I wouldn't touch that thing even if it was free! You better throw these away before I get Zouge involved." Relic threatened. Rouge only laughed.

"Sis wouldn't shout at me."

"Uh…Ivo would." That shut Rouge up. "Think on it." As they turned to leave, Relic clicked her fingers in a eureka moment.

"Hang on…maybe if we find out who was in the video, we can find out what happened. Detectives Relic and Sequin!" Sequin sweatdropped.

"Y-You're weird."

"So?" Sequin thought about the plan and eventually nodded. She dug in her pocket for $4.

"Alright…" She slammed the coins onto the table. "1 please."

"Certainly! Enjoy the pleasure." Rouge smiled, pushing the DVD to them and dropping the coins into a small blue coin tin.

"Oh, get lost." Sequin snarled. Relic opened up the DVD case as they headed back to the dormitories. "Right…what's in this thing? A DVD…labelled Evidence…detective game confirmed!"

"Seriously, how old are you? 18…or 4?"

XO

"OK…we know one of the ones in the video is Elias…but who is the other one?" A mere 10 minutes later, the two were wandering around looking for Elias. Both looked a bit peaky.

"It was a female of the same species…i-it can't be…not his sister…"

"He's not incestuous Sequin! I bet it was Megan in the senior year. What about Nicole!? If she finds out about this, true or not, she'll go off the deep end!" The two knew how unstable Nicole could get.

"We need to talk to Elias." They wandered around when they saw the chipmunk organising his locker. "Perfect timing. Elias! Can we talk a second?" Elias looked up, surprised to see the two there.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Have you seen the Gemstone Article this morning?" Relic asked. Elias nodded.

"About that video? Yeah."

"Guess what? We bought a copy to use as evidence for whoever uploaded it. Guess what? The video is about you and Meg." Elias's face went sheet white at Sequin's explanation. Him and Megan…a girl he had barely talked to!?

"W-W-Wait one second…me…and Meg…!? We don't even like each other! I'm dating Nicole!"

"Maybe Jason had a point. He's been stalking you and Megan for days now. Maybe he uploaded it! Shard said something of him wanting to sabotage you and Nicole's relationship…but would he really…?" Relic wondered before shouting came from a member of the newspaper team: a pink-purple wolf-weasel called Nicolette, or Nic for short.

"Extra! Extra!"

"What now!?" Sequin demanded, giving Nic $2 for the paper. As her eyes scanned the front page, her rage drastically increased.

 **SEQUEL TO THE VIDEO SCANDAL!**

 _Just when this was getting good, an anonymous source has admitted to seeing a second video featuring the new blue boy on the block! How shocking!_

"OK…now I get it." Elias mumbled, glancing at the article in record time.

"Get what, Elias?" Relic asked, ignoring how much Sequin was violently trembling, so much so she was starting to crumple the paper like she had done earlier.

First me and Meg, which is not true…and now that blue boy in Sal's year…this is all conspiracies and lies…someone is trying to get some people in trouble for sexual harassment."

"Even after what Sonic's gone through!? Whoever uploaded this has to be a person in league with Mephiles! I mean, Sonic's the victim in all this anyway!" Sequin finally exploded, taking Relic and Elias aback. Elias then had an idea.

"Follow me. I've just had an idea." He led the two girls into the computer lab, where the lights were all off. He gestured for them to hide under the table. "The only place anyone could upload anything…I say we wait until we see someone come in and upload something."

"That could take hours and we'll miss class! And why are we hiding under a table?" Relic hissed but did so regardless. A shush came from Sequin as she muffled the two Mobian's mouths.

"There is nowhere else! Shush…someone's coming!" They heard footsteps as three dark figures entered the room.

"No! No more! Two is enough!" It was Shahra, her tone high in pleading. The two with her only laughed. The three recognised the tones of Jason and Merlina.

"We have one more, so can you be silent!?" Shahra hung back as the magician logged on to a PC. "Jason, have you got the tape I asked for?"

"Sure do." He pulled a disk from his bag. "One of that little-bitty wabbit and that two-tailed fox. Friends? Try sex nerds!"

"How do they do this? Animation?"

"Probably 3D capture. They probably use a scene from a movie and then edit the models of students on top…so it looks like they are…you-know…" Elias explained to Relic. He then looked at them. "On the count of three. One…two…three…" All three climbed out and switched the lights on. "AHA!"

"AHHH!" All three screamed with Jason dropping the disk onto the floor. He quickly picked it up and cleaned it.

"You three! Ugh, stop butting in!" He screeched, shielding the two girls with himself while handing the disk to Merlina.

"You three are behind this!" Elias yelled, really angered. "First, me and Meg, then Sal and that new kid and now two freshmen…do you have morals!? I think Shahra does as I think you two roped her into it but you will relinquish ownership of that fucking video…NOW!" Jason only sneered, his face being cascaded in menacing darkness.

"Try me, bastard." He rushed forward and punched Elias in the nose. When he reeled back, Jason rugby-tackled him to the ground.

"Hey-hey-hey! No fighting!" Shahra screamed but no-one listened to her.

" **That is enough!"** A silver-metalled turtle robot stood in the doorway. He was a creation of Ivo's, nicknamed "ADAM", or just Mr. Turtle to students. His coded green eyes glowed in annoyance.

"Mr. Turtle…!? I…I'm sorry!" Jason whimpered, climbing off Elias and retreating back towards the girls.

"Elias, are you alright?" Relic asked in a panic, trying to help the senior to his feet. He had a swollen eye and a bloodied nose alongside quite a few bruises. He was clutching his stomach.

"Y-Yeah…I'm OK…" He stuttered. He felt sick.

" **So, you two were the ones behind all the rumours. Shahra, you are excused."** The monkey nodded and tiptoed nervously out of the room, glancing at the dark glares Merlina was giving her. **"Relic, Sequin, you also. Go take Elias to the nurse's office. I only need to talk to Merlina and Jason."**

"Yes sir…" The two girls nodded, escorting the injured Elias out of the room and towards Hope's office.

XO

 _ **KABOOM!**_

"Everyone out of the room now! Is anyone hurt!?" The chemistry teacher, an Overlander called Nate Morgan exclaimed, fanning the smoke away with his hand. All the 3rd year students looked around.

"No…I think we're all accounted for…" Walt coughed. "Hang on…where's Ash and Mina?!"

There was a moment of panic.

"Here." Ash's voice came through the thick bellowing smoke and he was carrying a fainted Mina.

"Mina! Is she alright?" Bunker asked, going pale. Ash nodded as he set her down with her back against the wall. Her arm was tattooed with mild burns.

"Should be. She got caught up in the sparks of that sparkler; she has some burns but I sort-of shielded her though she just passed out."

"Awwww!" All the girls chorused.

"It's nothing like that! I just…couldn't leave her to get hurt…"

"Awwww!"

"Will you lot shut up!? I just saved her, that's all."

"Awwww!"

"Oh fuc…"

"ASH MONGOOSE! No swearing in class!" Nate warned before he had the chance to finish his sentence. He sulked and crossed his arms in his typical emo fashion.

"They made me. All I did was save Mina."

"Awwww!"

"Oh, god!"

"Oh, don't be so coy, Ash. We all know you like her really." Sally teased.

"Do not! She's so…so… _creepy._ "

"But adorable at the same time. Oh, maybe they'll go on a date after this!"

"Awwww!"

"Urgh…GOD!" All the boys were amused by this but Espio caught Rob on his phone, smacking his lips nervously.

"What's wrong, Rob?"

"I just got a text from Quinn." Despite the fact not many people were listening, everyone looked at him in earnest.

"Any updates?" Alicia asked but Rob remained silent. That wasn't good. Espio clasped his shoulder worriedly.

"Rob, what is it? Has something happened…!?" Espio's own phone went off then. As he read the message, his face went a dark red with rage. He stormed off. Everyone muttered at what his deal was but Rob ignored the distraction and began explaining.

"They did some tests…on Sonic's legs I mean because of his…uh…you know what I'm talking about."

"Yeah, go on." Alicia encouraged but Rob sighed in a dejected manner.

"He's…he's paralyzed, you guys. Waist down. Needless to say, he didn't take it well."

A collective gasp went up around the class. Guntiver was the first to break the silence.

"I wouldn't imagine he would. For someone who is so active, this sort of handicap is going to affect everyday life majorly. Sonic may be an awesome guy, but even he might not be able to handle this sort of bombshell."

"And…is Quinn alright about this?" A purple bandicoot called Perci asked.

"He's a bit…I don't know…of course he's upset. Anyone would. He's on his way back. He's thinking it's best if his family's there for Sonic at the moment." Everyone agreed at this.

"In this sort of situation, I suppose having family around does help." Sally said.

XO

"Shadow, where are you?" Cream called. She had been searching for ages and yet not one person knew where the ebony junior was! As she walked down a corridor in the ICU, she finally spotted his figure sitting on a chair. "Shadow!"

"Cream…?" His eyes darted up to her, blank with confusion. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you! Is…Is Maria OK…?" She ran up to him. He looked down at the floor, fumbling with his hands that were still bare.

"…She's still in critical condition." He whispered. Cream bit her lip. Maria had been in hospital for 5 days now...was it really that bad?

"C-Critical condition!? In what way?"

"Her wounds were internal. She lost way too much blood. She needed a blood transfusion. Not only that, but she had swelling on her brain. She's not come around from the anesthetic so...I stayed away...tried to forget this happened, tried to put it down to a nightmare but they called me in so..." At this, he teared up but quickly wiped them away.

"So…that's why you're so tense." She sat on a chair next to him. "Maria's my best friend. Why would Liza DO this to her?" She raged.

"If anything happens to Maria, I'm going to murder that chameleon." Shadow darkly threatened, his hands curling into shaking fists. Cream nibbled her lip.

"Good luck getting past Espio. Wonder if he knows?"

"I sent him a text. He knows alright."

"SHADOW!" A dark growl came. Espio was approaching the two in a rage, eyes in amber slits.

"Speak of the devil." Cream muttered. Espio fired a punch at Shadow and he barely dodged.

"Whoa, man, whoa!"

"How DARE you accuse my little sister of this! Man, I'm gonna…!" Espio raged but Cream clung to his arm to hold him back.

"Espio, it's true. I saw it happen." Espio was about to hurt her as well but saw the dead seriousness in her eyes. She wasn't lying. He backed down and helped Shadow back onto his feet.

"…Sorry, Shadow…that was really unlike me. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Espio." Came an emotionless reply.

"Excuse me, Shadow, is it? Is your father around?" A nurse asked. Shadow shook his head.

"No, why?" Panic then set in "…Is Maria OK!?"

"…"

"What? What is it!?" He pushed. The nurse only blinked.

"I really need to speak with your father first, Shadow. It's regulations. I tried ringing him but I got nothing..."

"Screw regulations! She's my sister! Besides, Dad's working at the moment and he has his phone off! He always does..." The nurse turned away at this but eventually she knelt by the three.

"…If I do this, Sister will kill me so don't tell her, OK?" She got three nods. "Alright, I'll tell you. We tried our hardest to help your sister, honest we did, but…"

"…What are you saying…?" Shadow stuttered, his face starting to pale. He felt dizzy as the words he dreaded filtered from the nurse's mouth.

"She…she didn't make it…the injuries to her brain were great. Her survival rate was very low. She suffered a brain haemorrhage that led to her going into cardiac arrest. We tried several times to resuscitate her but there was sadly nothing we could do." During her explanation, Shadow had leapt out of his chair and had backed away, heartbroken tears streaming his face. His entire field of vision was spinning violently.

"N…no…s-she…she c-can't be…" Without warning, his eyes rolled back into their sockets and he flopped.

"SHADOW!" Espio screamed, catching him. He gently brought him down to the ground, shaking him for a reaction. "It's alright, I've got you…what's wrong? Can you hear me?" The nurse examined him but sighed in some relief.

"He's just fainted from the shock. Give him a minute." Espio nodded at this but he darkly growled to himself.

"Liza's dead to me. I'm never speaking to her again. How can she DO this!?" He got no answer. He then heard Shadow groan as he began waking up. His eyes flickered open but, at first, they failed to focus on anything. "S-Shad? You with me?" He got a weak nod as he gently and slowly helped the hedgehog into a sitting position. "Phew, you had me worried for a moment. Come on, best get you out of here." He got a whimper and a violent head shake.

"No…I…I can't…can't leave her…" He broke down again, resting his head on the chameleon's shoulder.

"I know, mate, I know. Cream, can you go get Shad some water?"

"Sure, give me a minute." She nodded and went into the foyer to get a bottle of water from a vending machine. She then noticed, on her way back, Quinn sitting with a black masked jackal and a red amber-eyed wolf. "Hey, Quinn."

"Oh, hey Cream."

"Friend of yours?" Gadget asked.

"This is Cream, it's her first year at NMA. Cream, this is Infinite and Gadget. They went to my old school."

"Pleasure."

"Likewise." Infinite nodded. Cream felt intimidated by the jackal but left it at that.

"Sorry, I need to go." She turned to leave. Quinn could tell something bad was happening.

"I'll be right back you two." The two nodded as he ran to follow Cream. She didn't notice until Quinn saw her give the bottle to Shadow. He looked really upset about something. "What's going on here?"

"Quinn? I thought you went back to NMA already." Espio gaped.

"I…I was catching up with some old friends of mine." He explained. "W-What's wrong with Shadow?"

Cream brought him aside.

"…It's Maria."

"Maria…?" He had heard of the attack that Liza had done on the Sunday. He was surprised the medic team had been working on Maria for so long, almost a week (5 days to be precise). "…What happened?"

"…She's gone Quinn."

Quinn looked at Cream, then at Shadow and back at Cream again.

"Y-You're not serious?"

"…I'm deadly serious."

"Someone has to tell Ivo." Espio resolved. Shadow gritted his teeth.

"I'll tell him."

"Shad, no. That's not really wise. You need to get a hold of your dad." He got a glare as he wrestled Espio off him and marched out of the corridor. All three froze for at least a minute before running after him.

"It's official. He's gone crazy." Cream remarked.

"We just have to stop him before he gets close to Liza." Quinn added. Espio grinded his teeth together. They had to stop Shadow before he ended up committing the worst mistake of his life…

 **XO**

 **PAIRINGS:**

 **BARBY AND BILL (DATING)**

 **BARBY AND WALT (FRIENDZONED)**

 **ZEENA AND ECLIPSE (ZEENA HAS A CRUSH)**

 **MINA AND ASH (MINA HAS A CRUSH)**

 **ELIAS AND MEGAN (…THING?)**

 **JASON AND MERLINA (…MAYBE A THING…?)**

 **XO**

 **NEXT TIME…!**

 **Can Cream, Espio and Quinn stop Shadow?**

 **The transfers move in!**

 **Mina tries a new tactic to get Ash to love her.**

 **Zouge and Zonic start their policy to stop Nikki.**

 **What has happened to Julie-Su?**

 **XO**

 **I should note who the transfers are. There are 40 students across the 5 years (4 of each gender pet year)**

 **Freshmen: Chibi Rose, Aerial, Athena, Tangle the Lemur, Justin Beaver, Arlo the Armadillo, Johnny Lightfoot, Charlie**

 **Sophomores: Belinda, Estyn Rabbit (belongs to Nio Hashiri's Riddles), Fuchsia Cat (pink OC cat from Forces), Bunni Flare, Gadget (red wolf from Forces), Sharps the Chicken, Void, Flying Frog**

 **Pre-Juniors: Tekno the Canary, Diane Aardvark, Starla, Staci, Zavok, Mordred Hood, Sleuth Dawg, Bartleby**

 **Juniors: Payback Fox, Phage, Ginger the Hedgehog (OC), Foxy Reynard, Guru Emu, Landar the Seedrian, Porky Lewis, Zazz**

 **Seniors: Li Moon, Sally Moon, Abby the Koala, EVE (Stage 1 forme), Infinite, Sgt Simian (goes by Simon), Lobo Wolf, Cortez**

 **Just for those who are wondering, Sally Moon and Chibi Rose are being included for a proper reason. Both suffer from Chunibyo (or "Eighth-Grader Syndrome" – watch Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions for more info on that) so that is why that act like they are from Sailor Moon. Chibi Rose is Sally Moon's "adopted" sister.**

 **XO**

 **Also…RIP Maria Robotnik…we all shall miss you…**


	10. Transferal

**I own Gabi (I changed the name), Sequin, Jason, Fang and Mariposa. I also own Ginger, a transfer student.**

 **Chapter contains references to suicide, mention of character death, depression, self-harm and violence.**

 **Quinn is owned by VGB.305**

 **The rest are owned by SEGA and Archie. Tangle belongs to IDW. Estyn belongs to Nio Hashiri's Riddles.**

 **XO**

 _ **Chapter 10: Transferal**_

Looking for Shadow was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Not only that, but they were running out of time.

"…Ugh! He can't have just vanished!" Espio swore, stopping to catch his breath.

"Cream, seeing as Liza is in your year, any ideas where she is? As long as we get to her before Shadow does, we should be able to calm him down." Before Cream could answer Quinn's question, someone else answered for her.

"Shad? Calm down? You are referring to our resident emo, right?" Turning, the three saw Manic with Sonia.

"Yes, actually."

"Why? Don't tell me he's gone on a rampage." Sonia sighed but Quinn bit his lip.

"…He kind-of has."

"It's because…well…you know that Maria got attacked by Liza?" Cream asked. Sonia looked blank but Manic nodded.

"Yeah, I remember Shadow and you telling me. Why? What's happened?"

No-one answered. Manic guessed instantly.

"O-Oh…oh god no…y-you're really serious, aren't you?"

"Yes, and he's gone after Liza." Espio recounted.

"Just when I thought one near-murderer wasn't enough…" Sonia growled, hands in fists.

"Come on, we need to find either him…or her for that matter."

"I know where Liza might be, going back to Quinn's question." Cream interrupted, trying to turn the conversation back to the original topic. "She might be in the library."

"Library…alright." The group headed there and, after apologizing to Fastidious Beaver, they snuck in and saw the pink chameleon with her head on the desk, eyes closed. They guessed she already knew about Maria's death. Espio sighed.

"I've told her already."

"Let me do the talking." Cream announced. She tapped Liza on the shoulder and she jumped a mile.

"C-Cream! God, don't scare me like that."

"You need to come with us." She grabbed Liza's wrist and dragged her out of the room with the others, escorting her carefully to the playground. If Shadow saw them, at least they would have a few seconds to think of a plan. Liza had her head hung low.

"…We'll do the lecture later. You know Shadow's after you, right?" Sonia asked, her tone sharp. Liza faintly nodded.

"Some seniors were saying something about Shadow going off the deep end…"

"Hell yeah he did!" Manic yelled. "Maria was everything to him!"

Liza cringed. "…I-I-I know that…"

"THEN WHY DID YOU KILL HER!?"

Everyone froze at this. Manic felt his lungs burn. He had never shouted that loud. Liza blinked a little.

"…I…I wasn't trying to…sure, I hurt her…but I never tried to do severe damage…I went too far…"

"Hell yeah you went too far!"

"Manic, mind backing off?" Quinn warned Manic. Manic snorted but did as he was told. After hearing about the confrontation between Quinn and Mephiles the previous Friday, he did not want to get on the hedgehog's bad side. A scream then came from Cream as a flash of lime green shot over the students' heads. They all ducked.

"What the…?" Espio's sentence got cut off when they saw Shadow standing metres from them, two Chaos Spears in his hands. His eyes were crimson slits, almost insane looking. Espio retaliated by drawing two ninja throwing stars from his pocket.

"They're not gonna do much against him, you know." Manic pointed out. Espio chuckled, looking at Manic with determination glinting in his amber eyes.

"Never underestimate the power of a ninja." When Espio looked back to face Shadow, the hedgehog was gone. He felt a presence behind him. "Oh shi…" A punch in the face stopped him finishing his sentence for the second time. All the others gawked. Manic was next to step up.

"Come on Shad, try and calm it a little! This isn't like you at all!" He tried to yell but Shadow ignored him, eying him with little emotion.

 _It's official…he's snapped…_

"What is going on over here?" All but Shadow looked to see one of the teachers, namely Amadeus, walking over, sword in hand (which, for some reason, he carried everywhere). "I will not have brawls in the playground, thank you."

"Finally, someone talks some sense." Cream sarcastically muttered, though no-one heard her. Shadow eyed Amadeus with spite. Amadeus could see he was raving.

"How about you go take a few minutes in the Isolation Room, eh? That should cool you down."

"To hell with that." Shadow finally spoke, his deep voice a snarl and his tone low and feral. "I came here for Liza."

"You should know better than to pick on a first-year, Shadow. I'm surprised at you. Whatever would your sister think?"

That was a bad choice of words. Shadow let out a roar and threw a kick at Amadeus, barely missing.

"MY SISTER'S _**DEAD,**_ YOU BASTARD! ALL BECAUSE OF HER!" Amadeus recovered from his dodge and looked at Shadow sorrowfully. Tears ran down the junior's cheeks as rage subsided for grief. He glanced at Liza through raging tearful eyes. "…All because of her…I'm alone…she was everything to me…she was probably the best little sister a big brother could ask for…and you killed her…out of spite, out of…out of…out of pure and utter HATRED."

Liza knew nothing she said would help.

Amadeus grabbed a walkie-talkie from his pocket.

"Can I have Zonic on back playground B please?" He spoke and, several minutes later, the hedgehog appeared, armed with a Taser. Manic still thought it uncomfortable that Zonic looked, sounded and was named like his stepbrother. "…Alright…here is how we're gonna do things. Shadow and Liza, I don't really have a full grasp on what is going on but there is some grave accusations flying around which may involve police involvement. While we get all this sorted out, both of you will stay in Isolation. Understand?" Both nodded. "I will also get Nazo to supervise you. I doubt you'll be forced to take physical action against one another with him in the room. Zonic?"

"Yes, sir." He nodded and started escorting the two out of the playground. Amadeus sighed and wiped stressful sweat from his forehead.

"Phew…what a long day. All of you, back to your dormitories."

XO

Quinn had gone back to his tower in low spirits. He went into his room without saying a single word, leaving Guntiver and Ash to exchange nervous looks. It wasn't like Quinn to be this way, though they both had a sneaky suspicion as to why. Guntiver was the first to react, perching on the edge of Quinn's bed.

"Hey, what's the matter?" He gently asked. Quinn only shrugged. He was sitting in a tight ball, the day's events swirling in his head. The arctic wolf moved up so he was sitting next to Quinn and hooked his arm around his friend's shoulders. What Guntiver wasn't expecting was for a few tears to streak his cheeks. This took Ash by surprise as well. Goody two-shoes student genius Quinn…crying? "…Is this about earlier? About Sonic?"

Quinn glanced up at Guntiver after hearing his best friend's name. That set him off fully as he nodded, starting to silently sob. Guntiver hugged him tight, gently shushing Quinn as he wiped his eyes.

"…Feel a bit better?" He asked. A small moan, almost like muffled words linked together, flew out of Quinn's mouth. Guntiver guessed that everything that had happened was just too much for Quinn to take in. Ash, who had only been paying half-attention to the scene in front of him, slipped off his headphones and looked over. He felt torn. Half of him wanted to mock this little sentimental scene but the other half knew that was completely insensitive after what Quinn had had to endure. Eventually, he bit his lip, looked over at Quinn and then under his bed, pulling out his black suitcase. He dug in his bag and threw a small pocket-sized packet of tissues onto Quinn's bed. Surprised by the kind gesture, Quinn nodded a thanks and began using them to mop himself up. Ash nodded back. A small smile crossed the hedgehog's face.

"Thanks Guntiver."

"Hey, I'm your friend, aren't I? Always here to talk to."

"True and…yeah, it is about Sonic…I'm just really worried about him, that's all."

"We're all worried about him...you don't need to feel you're the only one who seems to care because we all do. Right, Ash?" Ash had jumped at the mention of his name.

"Uh, what? Oh, yeah, of course. Sonic's a cool guy and all, at least I think so."

"…The thing about you Ash is that you're never 100% legit in your words. Most of the time, all you do is sprout rubbish." Quinn snarled at him. Ash growled back at him.

"Hey, again, I'm trying to be sentimental!" He had his hands up in innocence. Guntiver sighed and face-palmed.

"You two are never going to get along, will you?"

"To heck with that!" Both Ash and Quinn said in unison, giving each other distinct glares.

"Come on, it's getting late. We best get to sleep. Early assembly, 'member?"

Ash groaned, threw his headphones into his bag with expert accuracy and dove under the covers. Quinn nodded at the suggestion and went into the bathroom to change into his pyjamas, specially made to hide his metallic arm. He glanced at his reflection and where the metal joined with his skin at his shoulder. No-one could ever know. Not after what happened at his old school. It had been the reason he transferred not only schools but cities as well. He had to admit, New Mobotropolis was miles better than Station Square, though that opinion was up for debate. He then flushed the toilet so no-one would ask why he changed in the bathroom and not the main room itself and went out, only to be met with a dark room. He blinked a few times until his vision adjusted to the darkness. He clamoured into his bed and glanced over at the fourth empty bed.

 _Hope you sleep well, Sonic…and I hope you're alright…_

XO

The next day, Ivo had called an assembly at 7:45am, 15 minutes before breakfast. Everyone had groaned and had gone to the hall half-asleep. What they were not expecting was 40 new faces to be standing on the stage, most nervous or confident. Some looked blank. Quinn gulped. He knew all of them: they all had gone to his previous school: Spectre Senior High in Station Square. It was part of a "link-up" system: two schools sharing a unique connection. He noticed Infinite and Gadget standing among the 38 others. Infinite's expression was a mystery but he could see worry in his visible eye. Gadget was bouncing on his heels, obviously eager to get introduced, though he kept one eye on his slung arm. They were in 5 groups of 8: separated by age.

The first group, the first-years, involved a pink hedgehog wearing a Japanese school outfit (Chibi Rose, who suffered from a condition called Chunibyo, or Eighth-Grader Syndrome), two Overlanders girls, one with long flowing blonde hair and one with ginger hair (Aerial and Athena), a grey female lemur (Tangle), a cyan beaver (Justin) and a green armadillo, but not like Mighty and his sister Matilda. This armadillo was a Western armadillo (Arlo). The other two was a grey rabbit (Johnny Lightfoot) and a blue desert rat (Charlie.)

The second years involved Gadget, a dusky brown goat (Belinda), a pink and white furred rabbit (Estyn), a jolly-looking pink cat (Fuchsia), a light brown rabbit with fire for hair (Bunni), a white chicken wearing sunglasses (Sharps), a spirit wearing green and navy as well as scary-looking navy eyes (Void) and a green frog who looking a bit too happy about the situation (Flying Frog).

Quinn looked at his former year-mates. They was a green canary (Tekno), a grey-furred aardvark (Diane), a Seedrian with dark green hair and covered eyes (Starla), a girl who looking identical to Perci (Staci), a red Zeti with chains around his wrists (Zavok), a green cobra (Mordred), a brown dog who smirked in a sinister manner (Sleuth "Doggy" Dawg) and a yellow mink (Bartleby).

The juniors consisted of a brown haired faded red-furred fox (Payback Fox), a black cat wearing a white mask (Phage), a Fiona-lookalike but in posher clothing (Foxy Reynard), a brown-furred long-eared hedgehog wearing a blue outfit (Ginger), a blue emu (Guru Emu), a green-furred Seedrian with horns (Landar), a pink pig (Porky Lewis) and a tall lean purple Zeti (Zazz).

Finally, the seniors involved Infinite with a black-haired red-furred fox (Li Moon), a red-haired chipmunk also dressed in a Japanese outfit and she carried a golden wand of sorts (Sally Moon, also suffering from Chunibyo), a brown koala who had a broken heart tattoo on her left arm (Abby), a pink humanoid-AI with long spiked hair (EVE), a ginger-furred wolf (Lobo), a gorilla dressed in military uniform (Simon) and finally, a blue-furred creature which Quinn had never been able to tell the species of (Cortez).

Ivo tapped the microphone.

"Ahem…students of NMA, I apologise for the early start but we have some new students with us today. I am also happy to announce our attendance is 199! A new record for NMA! As such, I am cancelling all of today's lessons so you can all bond with our new students!" Gasps and claps went up around the hall. Some of the students who happened to like classes only sulked at this news. The highest record of students at NMA stood at 178. "However…as you know, we also have a difficult time ahead of us. Tomorrow, we shall be having a memorial service for one of our departed students: Maria Robotnik. I trust many of you are upset by this, another reason why today is a no-class day. That is all. You are all dismissed."

The hall filtered out slowly as the 40 transfer students merged with the others. Most were friendly, but hostility was already brewing. Infinite and Gadget instantly went up to Quinn.

"Well, welcome to NMA, you guys." He smiled. Gadget squealed.

"Oh, I am getting really excited…!"

"Calm it, will you? You're flashing like mad." To Infinite, his friend's aura was rapidly flashing gold in a quick-fired manner. It was a miracle he didn't get an epileptic seizure from it.

"Oh, sorry…" Gadget apologized, using deep breathing exercises to regulate his excitement.

"So…as insensitive to ask…who's this Maria girl?" Infinite then asked.

"…She was a first year student. She has a brother called Shadow who is in the 4th year. She got attacked by a girl called Liza. Remember Cream at the hospital yesterday?" Two nods. "She's Maria's "learning buddy". It's a thing. Her attacker was another first-year: Liza…but her wounds were so severe that she…" He trailed off. Gadget gulped, cupping his mouth with his unslung hand.

"O-Oh man…t-that's bad. Really bad."

"OK…so there have been two attacks on campus already this year?" Infinite asked to confirm and he got a nod. "…Hmmm…" A tap then went on Quinn's shoulder.

"Hello, Quinn." A slow female voice sounded. Quinn sighed and turned. Standing there, arms crossed, mask half off her face, was Phage. She was a black cat in a dark uniform. Her mask was red and white that hid her cold amber eyes that occasionally glitched. Her tail was long and bushy for a cat and she was quite tall and lean.

"What do you want, Phage?"

"Nothing. I barely recognised you but I did eventually. I guess I haven't updated my memory drive for a while…you've changed so much in 4 months."

"I thought AIs were computers. You automatically back up everything." Infinite mutters.

"Not ALL of them, stupid jackal. Get lost already! I can't stand your face, it makes me wanna shut myself down permanently!" The group around the four fell silent, gasping at the coded cat's harsh words. Infinite had jumped at this, bit his lip and complied, but Gadget chased after him. Quinn gave the cat a glare.

"Hurt him again and you'll regret it Phage." He followed Infinite out of the hall. Infinite was badly shaking and it sounded like he was crying. Gadget was trying to hug him but he kept shaking the young wolf off him. Quinn rested a hand on the jackal's shoulder. "…You…alright?"

"Do I LOOK alright to you!?" He shouted, immediately looking away in shame. "…Sorry, Quinn. Maybe later." He went off in an upset manner, leaving Gadget and Quinn behind.

"W-Why is he like that...?" The wolf whimpered, upset that his friend was upset. Quinn tapped his foot.

"You know why. One comment can set him off. That's what happens when you get bullied for years on end."

"How do you know?" Gadget asked but then glanced at Quinn's right arm. "Because of your ar…"

"Shush!" Quinn used one hand on muffle Gadget's voice before he said anything more. He glanced around and let go after noticing no-one was around. "Don't you dare bring it up! I can't have people knowing, alright? You saw what happened by at SSH."

"…Well, yeah but…"

"No buts and no, I wasn't thinking of myself. I was thinking about Sonic." He thought back to that Monday night, when Sonic had told Quinn everything he hated about himself, about the bullying, about the endless transfers and the lack of faith he had in others because of it. Infinite was almost the same. Maybe they would get along? Gadget then tugged at his trench coat sleeve to get his attention.

"…Anyway, seeing as we've got no lessons, want to give me a tour?"

"Alright."

XO

" _Nice trick with those two losers yesterday, Zonic honey."_

Zonic cringed as he saw Nikki's form float above him, a devilish grin on her face.

"What do you want?"

" _Hehe, nothing in particular, darling. Heard anything on that blue hedgehog yet? I wonder if he's dead…"_

"He's not. Whatever plan you had by using Mephiles, it failed, alright?"

" _Who said I used him? I never controlled him, I just gave him some…false information…plus he was of the violent type so the opportunity just presented itself to me."_

"I'm not listening to you, Nik. I've told you that you're not real, you're just a fragment of the past." He then stopped walking. "Although…I do have a plan that I want to share with you."

" _Oh?"_ Nikki then got serious, floating to the ground and crossed her arms in a defiant manner. _"What's up, sweetie?"_

"I want to help you move on, alright? I'm…I'm sorry for how I treated you…you were right. You did nothing wrong, all you wanted to do was get the best grades possible and that's OK. I was the one who wronged you and I know my apology doesn't change the fact you killed yourself but still…" He trailed off. Nikki wasn't sure how to react. Part of her rejected the apology but the majority of her believed he was genuine.

"… _If only everyone can apologize like that…"_

"Then that is the plan. We'll get Zouge's help too. She is an expert in this field. We need apologies from…who exactly?"

" _Rosemary, Amadeus, Isabella, Nazo, Tundra, Aki and Luger."_

"…Well…I know Luger is in police custody after hurting Julie-Su…Rosemary and Aki are on the council…Tundra is in the office and Amadeus, Nazo and Isabella are teachers…maybe Isabella first?"

" _Sounds good, Zonic honey. You lead the way. Oh, there is one more crucial element."_

"Nicole." Zonic guessed. Nikki sadly nodded at the mention of her little sister.

"… _With her hurting like she is…I can't possibly move on…not with Mindy and Shade treating her like she's a dead fly on their shoe sole…I overheard their plans…they're going to make her life hell…just like my life was…"_

"Then we'll save her too. I'm not going to let her go the same way you did. She needs to be happy." Nikki nodded at this, flying rings around Zonic as he started feeling dizzy. "C-Can you not?"

" _Oh, sorry Zonic honey!"_ Nikki cupped her mouth and stopped. Her outfit then changed into a white t-shirt sporting a black skull, black denim shorts and black boots. _"I fancy going Goth."_

"…Goth? Seriously?"

" _Don't you like it…?"_

"No, I like it…but it's not the best style for you."

" _Whatever. I'm keeping it."_

Zonic sighed to himself. _Still as stubborn as ever, it seems. That part of her hasn't changed…_

XO

"…and another thing, I don't get why you hung around with that Legion bitch in the first place! Oh, I'm wasting my time! First thing you get, get rid of that baby! You hear me!?" Knuckles growled and cut the line off.

"I so wish I didn't have a dad like that…" He muttered to himself, switching the phone off and dumping it in his white and red rucksack. His mother, on the other hand, had actually come along to the hospital. While he had learnt both Julie and the baby were fine, the wound was more severe than it seemed. It would be a while before Julie was fit enough to return to school. Knuckles' mother, Lara-Le, was sitting next to him, sipping a cup of tea shakily.

"I know your father is very…um…open about his hatred of Julie-Su." She began. "You know what I think? I think your commitment to her is very noble, and I think a baby is a wonderful idea."

"You…think so?"

"I know so. I was only young myself when me and Locke had you. I was…around your age actually. I was scared a lot. My parents hated the fact I had fallen in love with a Guardian. I still went on to have a baby and marry him. Even though I'm with Wynmacher now, I and Locke are still connected by you. Julie chose you for a reason: the Soultouch never lies." The Soultouch was a female echidna's sixth sense, allowing them to choose their perfect mate. Julie had latched onto him within seconds of meeting. It had taken him a while to develop any romantic feelings for her but he knew he couldn't let his father's abuse ruin their relationship. Of course, Wynmacher wasn't there. He was looking after Knecapeon Mace, a young toddler who was Knuckles' half-brother.

"HEY, GUARDIAN!"

Knuckles jumped a mile when a dark brown-furred echidna with a metallic eye, metal left arm and had a black tuft of hair on his head stormed towards him.

"K-Kragok…"

"YOU GOT OUR FATHER ARRESTED!? WHY I OUGHTA…!"

Before Kragok could do anything, a female dark pink echidna, his sister Lien-Da to be more precise, held him back by the arms.

"Let me go, Lien! Let me kick his ass all the way to Sunday!"

"Will you just calm it, brother?" Lien calmly asked, giving Knuckles a sorrowful look. "It's not the Guardian's fault so please calm it." Kragok growled and backed off, wrestling his older sister (by around 11 months only) and slumping onto a chair, arms and legs crossed angrily. "Sorry about my brother, Guardian. You…know what he's like."

"Yeah, noticed."

"Oh, you must be Knuckles's mother. My name is Lien. Lien-Da. That's my brother, Kragok. It was our father who hurt Julie…she's our stepsister, y'see."

"Oh, I see! I'm Lara-Le. Pleasure." The two shook hands. "And nice to meet you too, Kragok."

"Oh, piss off, woman. I'm not in the mood."

"Yeeeaaaahhhh…he's a bit of a foul-mouthed idiot."

"Oi! I heard that!"

"Oh, pipe down, will you? I can always deactivate your eye." Kragok growled at the threat but remained silent. Lien sat on the opposite side to Knuckles and eyed him. "Is it true though? Julie's having a baby?"

"Yeah, though both she and the baby are going to be fine. They've gone a gender check too. It's a little girl."

"Awww! That's so cute!"

"I would have thought you would be against it…seeing as it's an interblood."

"It did cross my mind…but Julie deserves to be happy. Me and Kragok have always shunned her, seeing as she was born to father's second wife Mari-Su and we always blamed her for her death…even though it wasn't her fault at all. How could it be? She was only a baby."

"Pffft. You have very poor reasoning skills, sister." Kragok snarled, looking at Knuckles dead in the eye. "You took full advantage of her, so why are you so insistent on having a baby you never wanted? Why not get rid?"

"Because it is what Julie and I want, Kragok. What would you do if you were in my position?!"

Kragok was about to reply but came up with squat. He couldn't think of how he would react if it was the other way around. Knuckles chuckled at the echidna's silence.

"…Yeah. That's what I thought."

"Is it Knuckles?" A nurse asked, coming into the room suddenly. "She's awake." Knuckles nodded and went into the room. Julie was sitting up, looking at her bandaged torso. She smiled when she saw Knuckles.

"Hey, sweetie."

"Hey." He widely smiled and embraced Julie.

"H-Hey now, did I worry you that much?"

"Of course you did."

"Well, well, lookie who it is. Our resident half-sister." Kragok mocked, going into the room in a smug manner.

"K-Kragok…what are you doing here?" Julie fearfully asked. Knuckles guarded her. Kragok's smug smile suddenly turned into a genuine face of worry.

"Why can't I be worried for my sister?"

Julie frowned. It wasn't like Kragok to get so…genuine. Knuckles also got suspicious.

"…I can tell you're faking that look, Kragok."

"Wrong, Guardian. I was going to be all smug like but then…what you said out there made me think. You two deserve this baby, y'know?" The two still look unconvinced. Kragok bit his lip. "Take from that what you will. I'll be out here." He went back out again.

"What a freak."

"Knux, it's customary for Dark Legion members to be cybernized."

"That isn't what I was referring to. He creeps me out." He shook it off and went back to Julie. "But you're alright now, right?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. Did you go see Sonic? I bet you wanted to."

"I tried, but he wouldn't even look at me, let alone talk to me. It freaked me out a bit."

"…Did you ask his mum or dad about it?"

"I got to meet Aleena for the first time, but she went on about him being…what was it…catanotic? No, that's not it…cata…cata…"

"…Catatonic?"

"Yeah, that's the word."

"That's not good…do you even know what that is?" Knuckles nodded. "If he's been like that for 5 days, then that's bad. Really bad."

"I can understand why though."

"Knux, that isn't the point. He's making himself ill. I get that he's going through some tough stuff right now but..." She stopped, sighing. "...I suppose he just needs some more time..."

"Time…yeah, probably." He then hugged Julie again. "I'm just glad YOU'RE alright, I mean…what Luger did…"

"…Is in the past." Julie finished. "Not even that is stopping me having this baby."

"That reminds me, I found out the baby's gender."

"Oh? Tell me!"

"…It's a girl."

Julie then glowed. "…A little girl…I'm having a little girl…" She began crying joyously, giggling. "…She's going to be gorgeous."

"With a mum like you, I bet she will be." Knuckles pecked her cheek and smiled back. "…I know she'll be gorgeous."

XO

 **Rosy – Sis…I've done it again. I'm freaking out…! [Nervous face]**

 **Amy – Calm down, where are you?**

 **Rosy – Dorm bathroom**

 **Amy – Alright, I'm on my way. Don't do anything until I get there.**

Biting her lip, Amy dashed into the junior tower and got to the girls' floor. She went inside of the rooms. Luckily, no-one was around. The bathroom door was slightly ajar.

"…Rosy? You in there?" She called out quietly, fiddling with the handle. A shriek came from inside.

"…Amesie?"

"It's alright, I'm here now. Can I come in?"

There were a few seconds of silence.

"…'Spose so…"

Amy steeled herself and opened the door wide but closed it fully behind her, locking it so none of Rosy's dormmates, namely Sequin, Gabi or Abyss, could get an eyeful. Sitting against the sink was a twin of Amy, but her fur was all matted and she wore an old-fashioned green dress with a white sash as well as blue trainers with white laces. Her wrists were crimson where open wounds laced her pale skin.

"…Oh, Rosy…" Amy cooed, hugging her close. Rosy was bitterly crying as well as whimpering in pain. "It's alright now, I'm here." She grabbed her sister's wrists to stem the bleeding. Next to Rosy was a small penknife with an intricate Chinese helm as well as a fancy-looking holder; the silver surface was stained red. Amy knew Rosy collected knifes…and occasionally used them for reasons not even Rosy could fathom. Needless to say, it meant Rosy was always in a bad place. Amy removed her hands. The three cuts on Rosy's slim right wrist had stopped bleeding. She then grabbed a flannel, made it wet and began gently dabbing the wounds to rub the dried blood from her skin. Rosy occasionally hissed in pain but didn't pull away. Amy remembered what had happened last year: Rosy had gone too far with her habit and she had almost died. After that, Rosy had promised to always let her know when she got consumed by the habit.

"Amesie?" Rosy asked, her head hung low. "…I'm sorry…"

"Hey, don't apologize. You're my sister. Of course I'm gonna help you."

"Should be other way 'round." Rosy continued, tearing up. "…I-I'm the elder girl…I should look after you."

"Forget about that now, eh? It's cool." She examined her work. It looked alright…apart from the clotted cuts. "There we go! Good as new!" She exclaimed, washing the blood from the flannel. After she finished, she helped Rosy back to her feet. "Feeling alright?"

Rosy silently nodded. Amy's heart sank but she hugged Rosy tight. Despite Rosy being 2 years older, Amy was a bit taller, so Rosy's head was pushed against Amy's upper chest.

"We're going to be alright now, you hear?" Amy encouraged. "Whatever it takes."

"…Thanks Amesie." Rosy gratefully smiled, eying the knife on the floor. She hissed at it and nudged it away from her with her foot. Amy bent down, cleaned the edge and slipped it back into its sheath. As they exited the bathroom, Amy placed it back in Rosy's blue and green striped suitcase.

"There. Gone away for the day, eh?" She only got a shrug. "Hey, now, sis! Smile for me, eh? Sister grin!" She pulled Rosy's mouth upwards so she was smiling. "Aaaaannnndddd…stay!"

The smile didn't stay for more than a second. Amy knew Rosy never really smiled: not with many girls in her year bullying her due to her "childish and stupid" nature, which was partly due to the fact Rosy was autistic. Her living hell reminded her of Nicole and how much Shade made her miserable. The school bell then went automatically for end of the last class of the day. Amy glanced at the time: 3:45pm.

"…Want to come to the gardening club with me?"

"…OK."

XO

"…A love potion?"

Merlina had asked the question while looking at Mina in great confusion.

"Yeah, a love potion."

"Why on earth do you want that?"

"Do I need to explain it? You can make one…right?" Her tone got dark. Usually, Merlina wasn't fazed by anyone's reactions but Mina's sudden change in tone and expression slightly freaked her out.

"Well, yes I can make one…but…"

"Great!" Mina took Merlina by the wrists and started swirling her around in some crazy dance. "How long will it take?"

"Provided I get the ingredients by this evening…it should be ready by tomorrow morning."

"If I need to get anything, just say."

"To make a love potion…you need one bird's feather, one tablespoon worth of sugar, a petal from a rose and finally, one confession."

"Easy! I can get the sugar and petal!"

"And I shall go get the feather." The two exited the Magic Clubroom, which no-one ever went to out of fear of Merlina's magic. Mina easily found some sugar in the cookery room and managed to get a tablespoon worth of it before Vanilla came back into the classroom. She snuck into the gardening club and quickly plucked a rose of one of its petals. Prizes in hand, she tiptoed back to the clubroom. Merlina was already there, holding a small orange feather. Mina bit her lip. She knew it belonged to a first-year pheasant…Cinder, was it? "Now…all you need to do is say your confession out aloud. That way, when he drinks it, he will fall in love with whoever says it. We don't want him falling in love with another girl. I must warn you though: the potion only lasts 24 hours and then it will wear off."

"24 hours with my love is better than never." Merlina nodded and drew a fuchsia ring around Mina's feet.

"Alright: say your confession and your confession only. No other words."

Nodding, Mina began speaking. "Ash Mongoose, I have loved you since I saw you. I want you to be mine and mine alone." As she spoke, her words began pink smoke which floated into the potion bubbling in a cauldron. The ring disappeared. "Ow…my throat."

"It's just a side effect. Worry not." She hid a smirk. The potion bubbled and turned a light cyan with pink mist bellowing out of it. "There. This should take around 18 hours to brew. All you must do now, Mina, is leave it all to me."

"You're not half bad, you know, Merlina." She left then, skipping. Merlina darkly chuckled to herself.

"…You know what they say, Mina. Never ever trust a witch."

XO

Isabella jumped when a knock came at her classroom door.

"Come in."

As she saw Zonic, she relaxed.

"Oh, Zonic, it's just you! Come in, come in. What can I do you for?" She began arranging some stuff on her desk. It looked a mess. Zonic then glanced up at Nikki. It seemed Isabella couldn't see her.

"I need to bring up something to you…and you're not going to like it."

"…I-Is it Mina!?" She exclaimed, now panicking. She grabbed hold of Zonic's collar and shook him. "H-Has someone hurt her!? Who!? Who hurt her!?"

"Miss Mongoose, Mina is alright. That isn't why I'm here. Try and relax, alright?" He sternly assured, peeling her hands off his uniform. Isabella sighed.

"S-Sorry, Zonic dear…when it comes to Mina, I get…"

"Paranoid?" Isabella jumped at the suggestion and huffed in denial.

"Heh, me? Paranoid? Nah, never."

"Izzy, you put a tracker on Mina's arm. That's reason enough to suspect paranoia."

" _I saw that! It was kind of funny."_

She got shut up by a dark glance.

"Um…Zonic? What are you looking at?"

"I'll tell you." He bent in close to her. "You remember Nicola Ellidy, right?"

Isabella badly trembled.

"Y-Yes…I remember her."

"You're not going to believe this but she is still here. Ghost form, mind you, but here nevertheless."

"S-She's here…?"

"She's actually in this room now…though I don't think she's visible to you…"

" _Let me fix that, Zonic honey."_ Nikki clapped her hands. Isabella's face went white. _"Hey presto. Hiya, Izzy!"_

"B-But…that's impossible…"

" _Impossible…? IMPOSSIBLE!?"_ She raged, flying straight at Isabella so they were almost touching noses. _"I'm dead, Isabella Mongoose! I'm a fucking ghost! I don't call that impossible!"_

"Nik, chillax, alright?" Nikki glared at Zonic before backing off. She began playing with some headphones.

"…I-Is…that really her?"

"Yep, spunk and all. You 'remember that threat that was made against Mina?"

"Yes…"

"Nik wrote that…to hurt you. She's been directly involved with issues involving other bullies, namely, the Prowers, Tundra, Nazo and Aki, who is on the council." He explained.

" _Check it out!"_ They turned to look at Nikki, only to go pale. She had the headphone jack around her neck.

"What are you doing!?" Zonic screamed, untying the wire from her. "…What are you, crazy?"

"… _Awww…was that not realistic enough? I should have made choking noises to go along with it!"_ She laughed at this. Zonic darkly growled at her, making her stop. Isabella mumbled encouragement to herself and clenched her fists.

"…I have something to say to you Nikki. Zonic, please leave the room." Zonic was about to protest but Nikki gave him the boot by kicking him in the behind.

"Ow! OK, OK! I'm going!" He left the room but listened in.

" _So…whattya wanna say?"_

"…When you were a student here…I knew about your situation…I was a teacher but I was also a bully. I was jealous of how smart you were and I never gave you any encouragement to excel…I only made you feel stupid…so much so that you…you…y-you-know…" Nikki nodded at this, arms now folded. "…a-and…I want to say how sorry I am…when I heard about your death…I was off work for a whole year…and then that threat to Mina came during the summer…I felt like God wanted me to forever wallow in my sin, but now I have a chance to make things right again. It's too late to change the past…but I can change the future, both for you and Nicole."

"… _Izzy…"_ Nikki murmured, tearing up. Despite her being a ghost, she could still touch real people. She flew towards the mongoose and hugged her. Zonic then re-entered the room.

"…I'm guessing Isabella's forgiven?"

" _You betcha. Also, I would remove Mina's tracker. It…she doesn't need it anymore."_

"I will the next time I see her."

 _ **CLATTER!**_

All three spun around. Standing in the doorway, a pile of books collapsed at her feet, face white…was Nicole. Her green eyes were tiny in terror as she took a few mini steps back and ran out, screaming. Nikki shook her head.

"… _Sis…"_

"Come on, let's go after her!"

XO

 **Going to leave it there. I love cliff-hangers…but I'm ending this at half 10 at night so I'm just ending it lazily, I know.**

 **XO**

 **PAIRINGS:**

 **MINA AND ASH (…Love Potion…?)**

 **JULIE AND KNUCKLES (Still Strong)**

 **XO**

 **NEXT TIME…!**

 **What's going to happen with Nicole and Nikki? Will it be a sweet reunion or a bittersweet truth?**

 **What is Merlina hiding? Is she got something in mind for Mina?**

 **Bow's distant nature to Sonia is finally explained!**

 **The day has arrived...for Maria's farewell service...**


End file.
